"The Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up to heaven." St. Mark, 16:19.
For years, ever since 1924, the Russians had kept and honored a dead body, the body of Lenin, god of the Communists. At his death the Soviet leaders ordered two scientists to embalm their founder for the ages. For months they worked on other corpses to find a method. What they finally did to the remains of Lenin is a holy Communist secret. At first the anatomist and the chemist assigned the task, expected the body to last only two years. When they succeeded for that long, they boastfully predicted that it would last forever.
At first the body lay in a wooden tomb before the Kremlin. Then it disappeared for 18 months while a new tomb of dull red granite was built at the same place. Many millions of Russians have filed past the remains, getting no closer that 10 feet from the coffin, which lies in an air-conditioned room. Close observers have noted, however, that the body is decomposing and discoloring despite all efforts to preserve it.
What a far cry this almost disgusting effort to keep a dead man's body in a state of preservation, from the glory of this Ascension day. What a contrast between what happened to the body of Lenin, god of Communism, and to the body of Christ, God of Christianity. The cruel Lenin and the kindly Christ offer no sharper contrast than in that which happened to their bodies.
The corpse of the Communist founder rotted, despite every effort to preserve it; whereas the body of Christ ascended, rose up and returned, glorious and triumphant, to His eternal home. Today we honor the fact that Christ ascended into heaven. And today it would be well for us to think a moment about the dignity of the human body, especially since we are considering the Fifth Commandment, which demands respect for the human body.
Of all material things, the human body is the Creator's most marvelous work. The bright spring sunshine is no more radiant than the tender smile of a human being. Beautiful as is the dawn, it is dull beside the clear, open face of an innocent youth. Who has not admired a clear, blue cloudless sky? Yet, the clear eyes of a little child are much more beautiful. The song of a bird is delightful, but the song of a human is still more thrilling. The human body is God's greatest material creation.
But the dignity of the human frame arises not from this alone. It comes from spiritual reasons:
1. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. As St. Paul tells us: "Do you not know that your members are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God?" I Cor. 6:19. In the next verse he tells us: "Glorify God and bear him in your body."
2. That is what we do literally when we receive Holy Communion. Your body becomes the living tabernacle of the Son of God. Father, Son and Holy Spirit take up their dwelling in you when you receive the Eucharist. How we honor the tabernacle on our altar. How we protect and adorn it. How much more so the body which becomes the living and loving home of the All-holy.
3. Your body takes its dignity from the fact that it is the co-worker of your soul. Of the two the soul is more important, but still the body is the instrument, the case, the tool of the soul. Your body cooperates in the good you do and in the bad you do. In the same way your body will share in merit and blame.
4. The human body was honored especially when the Son of God came down from heaven and took to Himself a human form from the Immaculate body of His beloved Mother. What a perfect body Christ must have had. What perfect cooperation there was between His body and His soul.
That body was cut and broken on the cross, buried in the earth. But the third day Christ rose triumphant and glorious, His body was beautiful and dignified in its resurrection.
And today we see that matchless body of Christ ascending, rising up into heaven, there to be seated at the right hand of the Almighty Father. Today is an occasion for us to realize the beauty and dignity of the human frame. Today is a time for us to see why God gave us a Fifth Commandment, demanding respect for the body of every man.
Because your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the tabernacle home of Christ, because your body is the intimate partner of your soul, because your body was honored by the Incarnation, by the Resurrection and by the Ascension of Christ, the Son of God, for all these reasons your body and every human body is worthy of dignity and honor.
That is why murder, suicide, abortion, mercy-killing, mutilization, sins against chastity, sterilization, other criminal killing or maiming of the human body are against the wise law of God.
We have seen the followers of Lenin lined up against the followers of Christ. We see on the one side feeble men trying feebly to keep from decaying and rotting the dead corpse of a mere man.
Today we also see - and what a thrilling sight it is - the glorious, beautiful, living body of the Son of God ascending into heaven.
May this Ascension day prompt us to renew our allegience to Christ and to reject everyone and everything that is against Christ. Particularly may we today pledge our respect for the body which God gave to man - your body and the body of every other human being.
_________________________
Adapted from Talks on the Commandments
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (© 1948)
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Ascension - His Heavenly Throne
"The Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up to heaven, and sits at the right hand of God." St. Mark, 16:19.
"He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God." Creed.
In the very first book of the Bible we read the thrilling, inspiring story of Joseph of Egypt. We read how his brothers jealously betrayed him, how he was sold into the service of Pharao, how he won the favor of the king, and how he explained a dream which prepared the Egyptian people for seven years of famine. As a reward for his honesty, ability and devotion King Pharao made Joseph next to himself in royal power, saying to him: "Seeing God hath shown thee all that thou hast said, can I find one wiser and one like unto thee?
"Thou shalt be over my house, and at the commandment of thy mouth all the people shall obey: only in the kingly throne will I be above thee.
"And again Pharao said to Joseph: 'Behold, I have appointed thee over the whole land of Egypt.'
"And he (ook his ring from his own hand, and gave it into his hand: and he put upon him a robe of silk, and put a chain of gold about his neck.
"And he made him go up into his second chariot, the crier proclaiming that all should bow their knee before him, and that they should know he was made governor over the whole land of Egypt.'
"And the king said to Joseph: 'I am Pharao; without thy commandment no man shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.'
"And he turned his name, and called him in the Egyptian tongue, The Savior of the world." Genesis, 41:39-45.
Something similar to thls happened to our Divine Savior when He ascended into heaven. In the heavenly court Christ is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. Joseph of old is a figure - a type - of Christ. Our Lord, too, was betrayed. Our Lord worked with His heavenly Father. Our Lord was truly the Savior of the world. As Pharao rewarded Joseph by making him ruler with himself, so God the Father rewarded Christ by seating our Lord at His right side. When we pray those words,... "Christ sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty," we mean that Christ, as God, is equal to the Father, and we mean that Christ, as man, is in the highest place in heaven.
When we say that Christ "sits" we do not mean any bodily posture or position. We do mean that Jesus, the Son of God, was given the position worthy of His dignity; He was equal to the Father. This was due Him as God. As man, Christ deserved the highest place in heaven, next to the Father.
The word "sit" signifies royal power. In the presence of kings everybody usually stands. Sitting is a position of rest, a position of contentment, a position of power. Sitting also implies a throne, the heavenly throne befitting the Kingship of the God-man.
The Bible also tells us that Christ sits "at the right hand of God." Really God has no hands; He is a pure spirit. But the expression "at the right hand" shows that Christ was seated in the place of honor, next in dignity to God the Father. As God, Christ has a throne equal in honor and power to the throne of His Father. As man, the throne of Christ is second and next to God's. As God and man Christ is above all creatures.
In some ways the relations between Pharao and Joseph were quite different from the relation between God the Father and God the Son. In this, however, they are alike, that just as Pharao made Joseph go up into his second chariot and receive the homage of all the people, so God the Father received Christ and placed Him at the right side, the position of power and honor.
As we follow our Lord this Ascension day to the very court of heaven, and look at Him, and think of Him, seated at the right hand of His heavenly Father, various feelings rise in our hearts. Our hope of heaven receives a new spurt of life. To know that the One whom we follow has entered into His glory, gives us renewed confidence that we too shall one day share in His glory. Nothing could be more encouraging to the good life He asks us to lead. Here below it is difficult, wearisome; there above we see the reward of it all.
Suppose God had not told us in Sacred Scripture that Jesus was seated at the right hand of the Father. Then virtue would be so much more difficult; the very word "virtue" would be empty and vain. Then the goods of this life would be everything to everyone. Empty and useless as they are, the baubles of earth would be our only concern. Without this article of the Creed, without the Ascension and all it implies, the passions of man would have no check, suicide and the asylum would be our only outlet, and society could seek a stop for its suffering only in the scaffold, the sword and the cemetery.
On the contrary, knowing with absolute certainty that Christ is enthroned in glory, bearing im mind the Ascension, and that He awaits us with a place prepared, we generously trade the goods of time for the goods of eternity. With the Ascension in mind we can attempt any and every virtue, any and every sacrifice. Gladly we pay the price of labor and pain. Today, Ascension day, a good life is sure of its reward, every good deed is sure of its return.
Ordinarily we should be sad at the departure of Christ. Instead we are glad - glad that He has received His reward, glad that now we can be certain of our own reward. May we be worthy to ascend with Him!
__________________________
Adapted from Talks on the Creed
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (© 1946)
"He ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of God." Creed.
In the very first book of the Bible we read the thrilling, inspiring story of Joseph of Egypt. We read how his brothers jealously betrayed him, how he was sold into the service of Pharao, how he won the favor of the king, and how he explained a dream which prepared the Egyptian people for seven years of famine. As a reward for his honesty, ability and devotion King Pharao made Joseph next to himself in royal power, saying to him: "Seeing God hath shown thee all that thou hast said, can I find one wiser and one like unto thee?
"Thou shalt be over my house, and at the commandment of thy mouth all the people shall obey: only in the kingly throne will I be above thee.
"And again Pharao said to Joseph: 'Behold, I have appointed thee over the whole land of Egypt.'
"And he (ook his ring from his own hand, and gave it into his hand: and he put upon him a robe of silk, and put a chain of gold about his neck.
"And he made him go up into his second chariot, the crier proclaiming that all should bow their knee before him, and that they should know he was made governor over the whole land of Egypt.'
"And the king said to Joseph: 'I am Pharao; without thy commandment no man shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.'
"And he turned his name, and called him in the Egyptian tongue, The Savior of the world." Genesis, 41:39-45.
Something similar to thls happened to our Divine Savior when He ascended into heaven. In the heavenly court Christ is seated at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty. Joseph of old is a figure - a type - of Christ. Our Lord, too, was betrayed. Our Lord worked with His heavenly Father. Our Lord was truly the Savior of the world. As Pharao rewarded Joseph by making him ruler with himself, so God the Father rewarded Christ by seating our Lord at His right side. When we pray those words,... "Christ sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty," we mean that Christ, as God, is equal to the Father, and we mean that Christ, as man, is in the highest place in heaven.
When we say that Christ "sits" we do not mean any bodily posture or position. We do mean that Jesus, the Son of God, was given the position worthy of His dignity; He was equal to the Father. This was due Him as God. As man, Christ deserved the highest place in heaven, next to the Father.
The word "sit" signifies royal power. In the presence of kings everybody usually stands. Sitting is a position of rest, a position of contentment, a position of power. Sitting also implies a throne, the heavenly throne befitting the Kingship of the God-man.
The Bible also tells us that Christ sits "at the right hand of God." Really God has no hands; He is a pure spirit. But the expression "at the right hand" shows that Christ was seated in the place of honor, next in dignity to God the Father. As God, Christ has a throne equal in honor and power to the throne of His Father. As man, the throne of Christ is second and next to God's. As God and man Christ is above all creatures.
In some ways the relations between Pharao and Joseph were quite different from the relation between God the Father and God the Son. In this, however, they are alike, that just as Pharao made Joseph go up into his second chariot and receive the homage of all the people, so God the Father received Christ and placed Him at the right side, the position of power and honor.
As we follow our Lord this Ascension day to the very court of heaven, and look at Him, and think of Him, seated at the right hand of His heavenly Father, various feelings rise in our hearts. Our hope of heaven receives a new spurt of life. To know that the One whom we follow has entered into His glory, gives us renewed confidence that we too shall one day share in His glory. Nothing could be more encouraging to the good life He asks us to lead. Here below it is difficult, wearisome; there above we see the reward of it all.
Suppose God had not told us in Sacred Scripture that Jesus was seated at the right hand of the Father. Then virtue would be so much more difficult; the very word "virtue" would be empty and vain. Then the goods of this life would be everything to everyone. Empty and useless as they are, the baubles of earth would be our only concern. Without this article of the Creed, without the Ascension and all it implies, the passions of man would have no check, suicide and the asylum would be our only outlet, and society could seek a stop for its suffering only in the scaffold, the sword and the cemetery.
On the contrary, knowing with absolute certainty that Christ is enthroned in glory, bearing im mind the Ascension, and that He awaits us with a place prepared, we generously trade the goods of time for the goods of eternity. With the Ascension in mind we can attempt any and every virtue, any and every sacrifice. Gladly we pay the price of labor and pain. Today, Ascension day, a good life is sure of its reward, every good deed is sure of its return.
Ordinarily we should be sad at the departure of Christ. Instead we are glad - glad that He has received His reward, glad that now we can be certain of our own reward. May we be worthy to ascend with Him!
__________________________
Adapted from Talks on the Creed
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (© 1946)
In case you haven't seen it...
Here is a Cardinal Arinze's Letter to Bishop Skylstad regarding Liturgiam Authenticum and the Latest Missal translation efforts on which the Bishops will vote in June.
Dissent, Truth, and Obedience
Today there are too many people who call themselves Catholic but, in reality, are not. Some are "Catholic" in name only, knowing very little about our Lord, His Church, and the Faith which they profess. Any number of reasons may explain this.
Others, having been taught about the Church and the Catholic faith from professedly Catholic institutions or others, believe they have acquired a special wisdom and power, with the ability to judge the legitimacy or relevance of Magisterial pronouncements.
We see it every day. We have seen it for years. Some of us may have even been a part of it at one time or another during our own lives. What is this "it"? It is nothing more than a new taking-up of an old revolution, a new embracing of an "enlightenment", which is is, in reality, the old sin of pride and disobedience, dressed up in new words and phrases, in an attempt to be persuasive - to one's own conscience as well as to others.
What we are witnessing (and have witnessed) is not only a revolution, but a bold and insolent rejection of morality and of doctrine.
The encyclical, Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth) was written by Pope John Paul II, in part, to address "...'the issues regarding the very foundations of moral theology', foundations which are being undermined by certain present day tendencies."
These "tendencies" include errors which distort or deny the Church’s moral teaching or her authority to speak on moral issues. These "tendencies" rupture the relationship which authentic freedom has with Truth - that Truth which is the Person of Jesus Christ and His teaching. This dissent, this rupturing, this "tearing asunder", is founded on pride and arrogance and buttressed by distortions and denials. It contaminates and poisons the unwary.
In recent decades, many professed Catholic 'theologians' and others have opined that a Catholic may dissent from authoritative, non-infallible teachings of the Magisterium and that a Catholic is at liberty to ignore the Church to follow his own conscience.
This thinking reflects a human intellect which is unwilling to be enlightened by faith and, consequently, prone to error in moral matters. This error exalts one's conscience to the level of being the supreme judge in all moral matters. The subjective conscience is thus divorced from objective truth. Following the suggestion of the serpent in the Garden of Eden, one has chosen to become like God, arbitrarily deciding by himself and for himself what is good and what is evil.
Those who engage in the promotion of such dissent and rebellion are also depriving others of their right to the truth. It is by the truth - Jesus Christ - that we are saved. It is by obedience to Him that one attains heaven. He gave us His Church, aided by the Holy Spirit, to guide us in His truth.
What, then, is a Catholic to do to avoid being poisoned or corrupted by such pervasive dissent, rebellion, and disobedience? One must strive even more to be ever in union with our Lord and His Church. One must be prepared to refute and condemn the errors which cause so much spiritual sickness and death. One must pray for those who, like a carrier of some deadly communicable disease, infect others with their errors. And one must pray for all those who must suffer the effects of such errors. We also should encourage our priests and bishops to nourish the faithful with the truth in obedience to Christ. We should thank those who are fearless in proclaiming this truth.
We must remember that
Posted as I received it from LRS.
Others, having been taught about the Church and the Catholic faith from professedly Catholic institutions or others, believe they have acquired a special wisdom and power, with the ability to judge the legitimacy or relevance of Magisterial pronouncements.
We see it every day. We have seen it for years. Some of us may have even been a part of it at one time or another during our own lives. What is this "it"? It is nothing more than a new taking-up of an old revolution, a new embracing of an "enlightenment", which is is, in reality, the old sin of pride and disobedience, dressed up in new words and phrases, in an attempt to be persuasive - to one's own conscience as well as to others.
What we are witnessing (and have witnessed) is not only a revolution, but a bold and insolent rejection of morality and of doctrine.
The encyclical, Veritatis Splendor (The Splendor of Truth) was written by Pope John Paul II, in part, to address "...'the issues regarding the very foundations of moral theology', foundations which are being undermined by certain present day tendencies."
These "tendencies" include errors which distort or deny the Church’s moral teaching or her authority to speak on moral issues. These "tendencies" rupture the relationship which authentic freedom has with Truth - that Truth which is the Person of Jesus Christ and His teaching. This dissent, this rupturing, this "tearing asunder", is founded on pride and arrogance and buttressed by distortions and denials. It contaminates and poisons the unwary.
In recent decades, many professed Catholic 'theologians' and others have opined that a Catholic may dissent from authoritative, non-infallible teachings of the Magisterium and that a Catholic is at liberty to ignore the Church to follow his own conscience.
This thinking reflects a human intellect which is unwilling to be enlightened by faith and, consequently, prone to error in moral matters. This error exalts one's conscience to the level of being the supreme judge in all moral matters. The subjective conscience is thus divorced from objective truth. Following the suggestion of the serpent in the Garden of Eden, one has chosen to become like God, arbitrarily deciding by himself and for himself what is good and what is evil.
Those who engage in the promotion of such dissent and rebellion are also depriving others of their right to the truth. It is by the truth - Jesus Christ - that we are saved. It is by obedience to Him that one attains heaven. He gave us His Church, aided by the Holy Spirit, to guide us in His truth.
What, then, is a Catholic to do to avoid being poisoned or corrupted by such pervasive dissent, rebellion, and disobedience? One must strive even more to be ever in union with our Lord and His Church. One must be prepared to refute and condemn the errors which cause so much spiritual sickness and death. One must pray for those who, like a carrier of some deadly communicable disease, infect others with their errors. And one must pray for all those who must suffer the effects of such errors. We also should encourage our priests and bishops to nourish the faithful with the truth in obedience to Christ. We should thank those who are fearless in proclaiming this truth.
We must remember that
"...obedience to the Vicar of Christ is the acid test of being a bona fide Catholic today...And as long as the bishop is kept in a diocese by the pope, we owe him obedience. But ...our obedience to the bishop is conditioned by the bishop’s own obedience to the Bishop of Rome, then, fidelity to the Church’s teaching." *###
Posted as I received it from LRS.
Some Can't Handle the Truth
Commencement Speaker Stirs Controversy
HT to Darla for the link
A spring term that began with controversy at the University of St. Thomas ended the same way Saturday when a student used part of his commencement address to admonish people he considered "selfish," including women who use birth control.Kessler plans on entering the priesthood...
The remarks by Ben Kessler, a well-known student recently honored by peers and faculty as Tommie of the Year, led to catcalls and boos during commencement at the Catholic university in St. Paul.
Kessler also alluded to the unmarried professors caught up in the travel policy battles, calling them selfish. And he then called women who use birth control selfish. He also called himself selfish and said he needed to be a better person, said university spokesman Doug Hennes.
HT to Darla for the link
The Ascension-Confession is a Key to Heaven
"They shall lay hands upon the sick and they shall get well." St. Mark, 16:18.
Imagine a woman paying $1,000 in order to be sure that she will some day ascend into heaven. That is what a Chicago housewife paid back in 1942. Here is how it happened. A movement or religion called the "I AM" religion had been started by a man and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Guy Ballard. Mrs. Ballard maintained that she could ascend to heaven any time, but that she "would stay here until her followers were ready to ascend." Through the mail they advertised this wonderful ascension. The Chicago lady, a Mrs. Maude Hill, was deeply impressed with the beauty of making a bodily ascension. She gave the founders of the "I AM" movement $1,000 in the hope of achieving this marvel. The Ballards advised her to continue in her efforts to accomplish an ascension and to "use a violet consuming ray to purify her body, live apart from her husband and think only fine thoughts." All this was made known when the Ballards were tried in court for defrauding through the mails.
What a far cry this silly story from the true story of the Ascension as we read it in the Gospel. After His glorious Resurrection our Lord appeared many times to His disciples, advising them, instructing them, giving them directions about their work in the world. Forty days after the first Easter Jesus took His Blessed Mother, the eleven Apostles and a number of His disciples to Mt. Olivet, a little over a mile from Jerusalem. From the top of that mountain He ascended by His own power into heaven. As the group stood gazing after Him, two angels in white garments stood near and announced: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up to heaven? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have seen him going up to heaven." Acts, 1:10,11.
St. Bonaventure, great Franciscan and doctor of the Church, bosom friend of St. Thomas Aquinas, gives us some stirring thoughts regarding the Ascension: "Never in heaven was there a day so grand and solemn. . . . It is the accomplishment of the mysteries of the life, and the blessed close of the earthly course for our Lord, Son of the living God. For His sake is this day more dear and solemn than all the others, and he who truly loves God will be more powerfully excited to praise Him on it, than on any other day of the year."
On this day Christ ascends to heaven that He might send His comforting Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Today He opens heaven for us. Today He ascends that He might be a Mediator between ourselves and the Father. Today He ascends that He might draw our souls to heaven after Him.
But Jesus paid a price for the Ascension. It was not such a silly arrangement or bargain as that made by the woman in Chicago who paid $1,000 for the privilege of rising bodily to heaven. But Jesus paid a price. He paid the price in a life of poverty, hard work, and misunderstanding. He paid the price in His bitter passion and torturing death. He paid the price with the last drop of His Precious Blood.
You and I must also pay a price for the privilege of ascending into heaven with Christ. There are two paths to the palace of our Prince: The way of innocence and the way of penance. By disobeying and offending the King of heaven we have made it necessary to set things right, to settle accounts, to make good for our sins, before we can be admitted to the heavenly court.
Thank God for the great grace of the Sacrament of Confession whereby we are restored to His friendship; whereby we are made able to ascend with Christ. As we are considering Confession at the present time of the year, it will be well to realize that this sacrament is a true key to heaven. It is one of the keys which Jesus gave to St. Peter and His Church in the words: "I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,; and whatever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." St. Matthew, 16:19.
There is your key. But you must pay for it. You must pay the price in a good confession. Often we hear the groundless, senseless accusation that we Catholics have to pay to have our sins forgiven - so much for murder, so much for cursing, so much for unkind talk. If that were the case, would we priests be rich! Yet, in a sense, we do have to pay for confession, not in money, but in a sincere sorrow for all our sins. We pay the price by making up our minds that we will never offend God again. We pay the price by telling our sins to the priest and following his advice and admonition. We pay the price by performing the penance imposed on us. We pay the price by rising from the grave of sin, so that we can also ascend with Christ. Ascension follows resurrection. You must rise before you can ascend.
Indeed, for many of us it would be easier to pay $1,000 or even a million dollars to be sure of ascending with Christ. Following Christ is not easy;
it is not bought in that way.
You buy your way into heaven with love. And when you go back on that love you buy forgiveness with sorrow and amendment and confession and satisfaction.
Today think of confession in that light. Think of it as the key, the means, the pathway to heaven. Use it often. Use it intelligently. Use it fruitfully. To priests in the confessional we can apply what Jesus tells us today: "They shall lay hands upon the sick and they shall get well."
Look up as our Lord ascends and ask Him to help you make the most of this merciful means, this key of heaven - the sacrament of Confession.
____________________
Adapted from Talks on the Sacraments
by Fr. Arthur Tonne,OFM (© 1947)
Imagine a woman paying $1,000 in order to be sure that she will some day ascend into heaven. That is what a Chicago housewife paid back in 1942. Here is how it happened. A movement or religion called the "I AM" religion had been started by a man and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Guy Ballard. Mrs. Ballard maintained that she could ascend to heaven any time, but that she "would stay here until her followers were ready to ascend." Through the mail they advertised this wonderful ascension. The Chicago lady, a Mrs. Maude Hill, was deeply impressed with the beauty of making a bodily ascension. She gave the founders of the "I AM" movement $1,000 in the hope of achieving this marvel. The Ballards advised her to continue in her efforts to accomplish an ascension and to "use a violet consuming ray to purify her body, live apart from her husband and think only fine thoughts." All this was made known when the Ballards were tried in court for defrauding through the mails.
What a far cry this silly story from the true story of the Ascension as we read it in the Gospel. After His glorious Resurrection our Lord appeared many times to His disciples, advising them, instructing them, giving them directions about their work in the world. Forty days after the first Easter Jesus took His Blessed Mother, the eleven Apostles and a number of His disciples to Mt. Olivet, a little over a mile from Jerusalem. From the top of that mountain He ascended by His own power into heaven. As the group stood gazing after Him, two angels in white garments stood near and announced: "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up to heaven? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you have seen him going up to heaven." Acts, 1:10,11.
St. Bonaventure, great Franciscan and doctor of the Church, bosom friend of St. Thomas Aquinas, gives us some stirring thoughts regarding the Ascension: "Never in heaven was there a day so grand and solemn. . . . It is the accomplishment of the mysteries of the life, and the blessed close of the earthly course for our Lord, Son of the living God. For His sake is this day more dear and solemn than all the others, and he who truly loves God will be more powerfully excited to praise Him on it, than on any other day of the year."
On this day Christ ascends to heaven that He might send His comforting Spirit, the Holy Spirit. Today He opens heaven for us. Today He ascends that He might be a Mediator between ourselves and the Father. Today He ascends that He might draw our souls to heaven after Him.
But Jesus paid a price for the Ascension. It was not such a silly arrangement or bargain as that made by the woman in Chicago who paid $1,000 for the privilege of rising bodily to heaven. But Jesus paid a price. He paid the price in a life of poverty, hard work, and misunderstanding. He paid the price in His bitter passion and torturing death. He paid the price with the last drop of His Precious Blood.
You and I must also pay a price for the privilege of ascending into heaven with Christ. There are two paths to the palace of our Prince: The way of innocence and the way of penance. By disobeying and offending the King of heaven we have made it necessary to set things right, to settle accounts, to make good for our sins, before we can be admitted to the heavenly court.
Thank God for the great grace of the Sacrament of Confession whereby we are restored to His friendship; whereby we are made able to ascend with Christ. As we are considering Confession at the present time of the year, it will be well to realize that this sacrament is a true key to heaven. It is one of the keys which Jesus gave to St. Peter and His Church in the words: "I will give thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever thou shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,; and whatever thou shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." St. Matthew, 16:19.
There is your key. But you must pay for it. You must pay the price in a good confession. Often we hear the groundless, senseless accusation that we Catholics have to pay to have our sins forgiven - so much for murder, so much for cursing, so much for unkind talk. If that were the case, would we priests be rich! Yet, in a sense, we do have to pay for confession, not in money, but in a sincere sorrow for all our sins. We pay the price by making up our minds that we will never offend God again. We pay the price by telling our sins to the priest and following his advice and admonition. We pay the price by performing the penance imposed on us. We pay the price by rising from the grave of sin, so that we can also ascend with Christ. Ascension follows resurrection. You must rise before you can ascend.
Indeed, for many of us it would be easier to pay $1,000 or even a million dollars to be sure of ascending with Christ. Following Christ is not easy;
it is not bought in that way.
You buy your way into heaven with love. And when you go back on that love you buy forgiveness with sorrow and amendment and confession and satisfaction.
Today think of confession in that light. Think of it as the key, the means, the pathway to heaven. Use it often. Use it intelligently. Use it fruitfully. To priests in the confessional we can apply what Jesus tells us today: "They shall lay hands upon the sick and they shall get well."
Look up as our Lord ascends and ask Him to help you make the most of this merciful means, this key of heaven - the sacrament of Confession.
____________________
Adapted from Talks on the Sacraments
by Fr. Arthur Tonne,OFM (© 1947)
Gospel for Wednesday, 6th Week of Easter
From: John 16:12-15
The Action of the Holy Spirit (Continuation)
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [12] "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. [13] When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. [14] He will glorify Me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you. [15] All that the Father has is Mine; therefore I said that He will take what is Mine and declare it to you."
______________________
Commentary:
13. It is the Holy Spirit who makes fully understood the truth revealed by Christ. As Vatican II teaches, our Lord "completed and perfected Revelation and confirmed it...finally by sending the Spirit of truth" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 4). Cf. note on John 14:25-26.
14-15. Jesus Christ here reveals some aspects of the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. He teaches that the Three Divine Persons have the same nature when He says that everything that the Father has belongs to the Son, and everything the Son has belongs to the Father (cf. John 17:10) and that the Spirit also has what is common to the Father and the Son, that is, the divine essence. The activity specific to the Holy Spirit is that of glorifying Christ, reminding and clarifying for the disciples everything the Master taught them (John 16:13). On being inspired by the Holy Spirit to recognize the Father through the Son, men render glory to Christ; and glorifying Christ is the same as giving glory to God (cf. John 17:1, 3-5, 10).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
The Action of the Holy Spirit (Continuation)
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [12] "I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. [13] When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak of His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak, and He will declare to you the things that are to come. [14] He will glorify Me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you. [15] All that the Father has is Mine; therefore I said that He will take what is Mine and declare it to you."
______________________
Commentary:
13. It is the Holy Spirit who makes fully understood the truth revealed by Christ. As Vatican II teaches, our Lord "completed and perfected Revelation and confirmed it...finally by sending the Spirit of truth" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 4). Cf. note on John 14:25-26.
14-15. Jesus Christ here reveals some aspects of the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. He teaches that the Three Divine Persons have the same nature when He says that everything that the Father has belongs to the Son, and everything the Son has belongs to the Father (cf. John 17:10) and that the Spirit also has what is common to the Father and the Son, that is, the divine essence. The activity specific to the Holy Spirit is that of glorifying Christ, reminding and clarifying for the disciples everything the Master taught them (John 16:13). On being inspired by the Holy Spirit to recognize the Father through the Son, men render glory to Christ; and glorifying Christ is the same as giving glory to God (cf. John 17:1, 3-5, 10).
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Oh, to be a Scotsman (or ScotsKid)
SCOTLAND, UK, May 23, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Scottish schoolchildren will soon be hearing about how to engage in "safe" homosexual activity, and getting advice on same-sex relationships, from their teachers.While it's unthinkable to force the natural moral law on others, it's quite alright, even praiseworthy, to force one's IMMORALITY on others, including children...God help us!
The Scotsman reported Sunday on the coming release of a new set of official guidelines that includes homosexuality in school sex education programs...
[Even though over 85% of the were opposed]...Health officials pushed for the inclusion of the new material in the Sexual Health and Relationships Education program, saying the existing guidelines were "heterosexist" and did not reflect the current social climate.
Cardinal Pell on Sexual Morality, "Diabolical" Porn...
LifeSiteNews has the final installment of a three-part interview with Cardinal George Pell.
...I think we've got to explain to society at large not just from the point of view of Christian morality but from natural morality the importance of heterosexual marriage, a man and a woman, the immense benefits that brings to society, and the burdens that other arrangements often bring to society...
"I think a number of people in my generation reacted and rebelled against an excessive Puritanism-which was a bit too strict and too negative-and often fell silent and didn't give to the generation that was then growing up effective guidelines for love.
"I think the pendulum amongst the serious Catholics is swinging back closer to where it should be. But in society generally it's very wild, and of course now you've got the new growth of pornography, videos, the internet, and all the sort of thing, which is really quite diabolical."
A Choir Director's Lament on Lyrics for Liturgy
Another great article in this month's Adoremus Bulletin by Lucy Carroll:
Is there a real choir in your parish? If there is a choir, it is more probably a song group accompanied by guitar, perhaps with drums and bass guitar. The traditional choir, a mainstay of Catholic liturgy -- with a repertoire of great beauty -- has all but vanished in the parishes.
Where once Catholic choirs sang the great masterworks of Palestrina, Nanino, Victoria, Mozart, etc., now song groups gabble the pop-style pablum churned out by the powerful music publishing industry...
Today, however, choirs have virtually disappeared in most parishes. Usually soloists perform up front, with keyboard “backup”. (Why be lost in a group when one can sing solo?)
U.S. Bishops . . .Reverse Mandatory Safety-Sex-Ed Policy
From the Wanderer:
HT to Darla M. for the update...
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a little-noticed, single paragraph released May 15 on its web site, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops reversed the policy adopted by numerous dioceses across America that had subjected Catholic schoolchildren to mandatory “sex-abuse-education” classes.What a guy! This is a MUST read article!
“New regulations issued May 15 by the U.S. bishops allow parents to remove their children from diocesan-sponsored training programs in child sex-abuse prevention,” said the announcement from the U.S. bishops’ Catholic News Service (CNS).
And the announcement appeared on the very day that the Vatican announced the acceptance by Pope Benedict XVI of the resignation of Washington’s Theodore Cardinal McCarrick, an outspoken supporter of those education programs.
In fact, Cardinal McCarrick had ordered all archdiocesan Catholic schools to expel any children whose parents refused to allow their children into the secular “Child Lures” program that was mandatory until the May 15 announcement apparently reversed it.
HT to Darla M. for the update...
Rainbow Sash Movement Plans Cathedral Invasions on Pentecost
Press Release, Source: Rainbow Sash Movement"Human rights"? Only those whose minds are darkened by ignorance or sin can conclude that it is a "human right" to engage in morally depraved acts of homosexuality...This rebellious action is nothing less that defiance of all morality. Of course, while those with a disordered inclination to homosexuality are to be treated with love and compassion, the sin of homosexuality deserves to be treated as the grave moral evil that it is. Those who promote lifestyles which are intrinsically evil need our prayers and offers of reparations.
Gay and Lesbian Catholics Will Enter Catholic Cathedrals Nationally On Pentecost Sunday
Monday May 22, 6:00 am ET
CHICAGO, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement was released today by the Rainbow Sash Movement (RSM). The RSM will respond to the fear and intolerance of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Transgender (GLBT) persons, by many of our Catholic Bishops on Pentecost Sunday, June 4, 2006. We will be entering, with our straight allies, Catholic Cathedrals across the nation on Pentecost wearing Rainbow Sashes as a sign of identification. Some Bishops have welcomed us in the past, and we are thankful for their welcome.
Nationally our Bishops have lobbied against our human rights. Our grief is intensified because many in the GLBT Catholic Community feel alienated from the Church because of this assault on our human rights. We believe the Bishops have a serious obligation to root out structures and attitudes that discriminate against the homosexual as a person. A small number of courageous Bishops are exerting their leadership in behalf of this effort, and these Bishops will have our full support and prayers. . .
Pope Benedict on Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus "cannot then be considered as a passing form of veneration or devotion. The adoration of God's love, which found historical-devotional expression in the symbol of the pierced heart, remains irreplaceable for a living relationship with God."
Bishop Braxton: The Need for a New Apologetic
The challenge of which I speak is the need to put reason at the service of faith in the most creative way possible in order to develop a new and more profound apologetic for our Catholic world view, an apologetic linked to the new evangelization of which Pope John Paul spoke that recognizes that the faith development of our children, our high school students, and our young adults is challenged in unprecedented ways today.
Gospel for Tuesday, 6th Week of Easter
From: John 16:5-11
The Action of the Holy Spirit (Continuation)
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [5] "But now I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, `Where are You going?' [6] But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. [7] Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. [8] And when He comes, He will convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment: [9] of sin, because they do not believe in Me; [10] of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see Me no more; [11] of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."
___________________________
Commentary:
6-7. The thought that He is going to leave them saddens the Apostles, and our Lord consoles them with the promise of the Paraclete, the Consoler. Later (verses 20ff), He assures them that their sadness will turn into joy which no one can take away from them.
Jesus speaks about the Holy Spirit three times during the discourse of the Last Supper. The first time (14:15ff), He says that another Paraclete (advocate, consoler) will come, sent by the Father, to be with them forever; secondly, He says (14:26) that He Himself will send them, on behalf of the Father, the Spirit of truth who will teach them everything; and now He unfolds for them the complete plan of salvation and announces that the Holy Spirit will be sent once He ascends into Heaven.
8-12. The word "world" here means all those who have not believed in Christ and have rejected Him. These the Holy Spirit will accuse of sin because of their unbelief. He will accuse them of unrighteousness because He will show that Jesus was the Just One who was never guilty of sin (cf. John 8:46; Hebrews 4:15) and therefore is in glory beside His Father. And, finally, He will indict them by demonstrating that the devil, the prince of the world, has been overthrown through the death of Christ, which rescues man from the power of the Evil One and gives him grace to avoid the snares he lays.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
The Action of the Holy Spirit (Continuation)
(Jesus said to His disciples,) [5] "But now I am going to Him who sent Me; yet none of you asks Me, `Where are You going?' [6] But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. [7] Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. [8] And when He comes, He will convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment: [9] of sin, because they do not believe in Me; [10] of righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see Me no more; [11] of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."
___________________________
Commentary:
6-7. The thought that He is going to leave them saddens the Apostles, and our Lord consoles them with the promise of the Paraclete, the Consoler. Later (verses 20ff), He assures them that their sadness will turn into joy which no one can take away from them.
Jesus speaks about the Holy Spirit three times during the discourse of the Last Supper. The first time (14:15ff), He says that another Paraclete (advocate, consoler) will come, sent by the Father, to be with them forever; secondly, He says (14:26) that He Himself will send them, on behalf of the Father, the Spirit of truth who will teach them everything; and now He unfolds for them the complete plan of salvation and announces that the Holy Spirit will be sent once He ascends into Heaven.
8-12. The word "world" here means all those who have not believed in Christ and have rejected Him. These the Holy Spirit will accuse of sin because of their unbelief. He will accuse them of unrighteousness because He will show that Jesus was the Just One who was never guilty of sin (cf. John 8:46; Hebrews 4:15) and therefore is in glory beside His Father. And, finally, He will indict them by demonstrating that the devil, the prince of the world, has been overthrown through the death of Christ, which rescues man from the power of the Evil One and gives him grace to avoid the snares he lays.
___________________________
Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Reprinted with permission from Four Courts Press and Scepter Publishers, the U.S. publisher.
Monday, May 22, 2006
6th Week of Easter - Lessons of the Ascension
"I came forth from the Father and have come into the world. Again I leave the world and go to the Father." St. John, 16:28.
"He ascended into heaven." Creed.
In the second century there lived a saintly widow by the name of Felicitas. She and her seven sons were staunch Christians. Despite decrees against the faith, despite the threat of death and dire punishment, Felicitas and her boys practiced their faith openly and fervently. Their example won many to the cause of Christ. This stirred the spleen of the pagan priests, who complained to Emperor Antoninus that this family was drawing many from the worship of the gods; the gods were displeased. The gods could be appeased only when this mother and her sons would sacrifice to them.
Privately and publicly the Roman officials coaxed, bribed and threatened Felicitas and her sons. To no avail. To their mingled threats and promises the courageous mother replied: "My children will live eternally with Christ if they are faithful to Him; but must expect eternal death if they sacrifice to idols."
Turning to her sons, she exclaimed: "My sons, look up to heaven, where Jesus Christ with His saints expects you. Be faithful in His love, and fight courageously for your souls."
One by one before the very eyes of their mother, the sons were put to a cruel death. At last she who suffered the pain of bringing them into this world, and the pain of ushering them into eternal life, she too, was beheaded, four months after her first child had been put to death. We remember this heroic family on July 10th.
We remember them also as we approach the feast of the Ascension, next Thursday, for St. Felicitas taught her sons one of the lessons Christ teaches us when he returned to heaven: "My sons, look up to heaven where Jesus Christ with His saints expects you."
The Ascension teaches many lessons. To think of these lessons will be a good preparation for the Feast, which usually offers too little time to dwell upon them.
First of all we want to congratulate our Lord upon His entrance into His heavenly home. When a man accomplishes something, when a man completes some task, or achieves some success, we congratulate him. We join in his joy. As Ascension day approaches we join in the joy of our Lord, the joy of returning to His heavenly Father. We congratulate Him. We tell Christ that we are happy with Him in the happiness that was deservedly His when He returned to His home with the Father. He came from His Father to us; from us He returns to His Father.
A second sentiment is one of gratitude to our Lord for the blessings of the Ascension: He has gone to prepare a place for us; He has gone to send the Holy Spirit down upon us; He has gone to intercede for us at the throne of the heavenly Father. That is why Christ reminds us: "Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you."
A third thought is that we can now follow our Lord in mind and heart right into the very court of heaven. We were delighted in watching and hearing Him as He walked this earth. We have joyed in His kindness, His patience, His power to cure, His desire to help. Don't stop at the door of heaven. Let your mind and heart go right in with Him.
It is as if a dear friend were admitted into some theatre before you. You have to wait your turn, weary, lonesome, in heat or cold or rain. Your friend is inside. You are happy that he is enjoying himself. You know you will be with him soon.
So on Ascension Christ has gone ahead into the delights of heaven. We are left waiting outside. But the thought of being with Him some day encourages us in our waiting. Christ has not only gone in ahead of us; He has gone to prepare a place for us. Just as if a friend were saving a place for you in the theatre.
That was the thought of St. Felicitas when a cruel death stared her and her sons in the face: "My children, look up to heaven. . . ." She knew that Jesus was waiting for them, preparing for them. That made the things of earth less important, another idea suggested by the Ascension.
We can't take the world with us. The toys and trifles of earth, no matter how important and necessary they may seem today, cannot go with us. The best way to realize and remember this is to think of the ascent of our Lord into heaven. I dare you to give this fact a "good think" between now and Thursday.
The Ascension strengthens our faith. Had Jesus remained in His bodily form, it would not have required as much faith to believe in Him and follow Him, even though many who saw Him and heard Him did not believe in Him. Now that He is in heaven where we cannot see Him, faith comes into its own.
The Ascension is a spur to our hope, our hope that one day we will be with Him, a spur to our hope that after the dark difficulties of earth we will enjoy the bright delights of company with Him.
The Ascenson kindles our love. Christ, as it were, has taken our hearts with Him to heaven. The loves of earth always have earth mixed with them. The loves of heaven are unmixed. Test your earthly loves in that eternal love.
Dwell on anyone of these thoughts between this moment and Thursday, the feast of the Ascension. Then the feast will mean much more to you. What Christ tells us will also mean much more: "I came forth from the Father. . . . Again I go to the Father." Amen.
__________________________
Adapted from Talks on the Creed
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (© 1946)
"He ascended into heaven." Creed.
In the second century there lived a saintly widow by the name of Felicitas. She and her seven sons were staunch Christians. Despite decrees against the faith, despite the threat of death and dire punishment, Felicitas and her boys practiced their faith openly and fervently. Their example won many to the cause of Christ. This stirred the spleen of the pagan priests, who complained to Emperor Antoninus that this family was drawing many from the worship of the gods; the gods were displeased. The gods could be appeased only when this mother and her sons would sacrifice to them.
Privately and publicly the Roman officials coaxed, bribed and threatened Felicitas and her sons. To no avail. To their mingled threats and promises the courageous mother replied: "My children will live eternally with Christ if they are faithful to Him; but must expect eternal death if they sacrifice to idols."
Turning to her sons, she exclaimed: "My sons, look up to heaven, where Jesus Christ with His saints expects you. Be faithful in His love, and fight courageously for your souls."
One by one before the very eyes of their mother, the sons were put to a cruel death. At last she who suffered the pain of bringing them into this world, and the pain of ushering them into eternal life, she too, was beheaded, four months after her first child had been put to death. We remember this heroic family on July 10th.
We remember them also as we approach the feast of the Ascension, next Thursday, for St. Felicitas taught her sons one of the lessons Christ teaches us when he returned to heaven: "My sons, look up to heaven where Jesus Christ with His saints expects you."
The Ascension teaches many lessons. To think of these lessons will be a good preparation for the Feast, which usually offers too little time to dwell upon them.
First of all we want to congratulate our Lord upon His entrance into His heavenly home. When a man accomplishes something, when a man completes some task, or achieves some success, we congratulate him. We join in his joy. As Ascension day approaches we join in the joy of our Lord, the joy of returning to His heavenly Father. We congratulate Him. We tell Christ that we are happy with Him in the happiness that was deservedly His when He returned to His home with the Father. He came from His Father to us; from us He returns to His Father.
A second sentiment is one of gratitude to our Lord for the blessings of the Ascension: He has gone to prepare a place for us; He has gone to send the Holy Spirit down upon us; He has gone to intercede for us at the throne of the heavenly Father. That is why Christ reminds us: "Amen, amen, I say to you, if you ask the Father anything in my name, he will give it to you."
A third thought is that we can now follow our Lord in mind and heart right into the very court of heaven. We were delighted in watching and hearing Him as He walked this earth. We have joyed in His kindness, His patience, His power to cure, His desire to help. Don't stop at the door of heaven. Let your mind and heart go right in with Him.
It is as if a dear friend were admitted into some theatre before you. You have to wait your turn, weary, lonesome, in heat or cold or rain. Your friend is inside. You are happy that he is enjoying himself. You know you will be with him soon.
So on Ascension Christ has gone ahead into the delights of heaven. We are left waiting outside. But the thought of being with Him some day encourages us in our waiting. Christ has not only gone in ahead of us; He has gone to prepare a place for us. Just as if a friend were saving a place for you in the theatre.
That was the thought of St. Felicitas when a cruel death stared her and her sons in the face: "My children, look up to heaven. . . ." She knew that Jesus was waiting for them, preparing for them. That made the things of earth less important, another idea suggested by the Ascension.
We can't take the world with us. The toys and trifles of earth, no matter how important and necessary they may seem today, cannot go with us. The best way to realize and remember this is to think of the ascent of our Lord into heaven. I dare you to give this fact a "good think" between now and Thursday.
The Ascension strengthens our faith. Had Jesus remained in His bodily form, it would not have required as much faith to believe in Him and follow Him, even though many who saw Him and heard Him did not believe in Him. Now that He is in heaven where we cannot see Him, faith comes into its own.
The Ascension is a spur to our hope, our hope that one day we will be with Him, a spur to our hope that after the dark difficulties of earth we will enjoy the bright delights of company with Him.
The Ascenson kindles our love. Christ, as it were, has taken our hearts with Him to heaven. The loves of earth always have earth mixed with them. The loves of heaven are unmixed. Test your earthly loves in that eternal love.
Dwell on anyone of these thoughts between this moment and Thursday, the feast of the Ascension. Then the feast will mean much more to you. What Christ tells us will also mean much more: "I came forth from the Father. . . . Again I go to the Father." Amen.
__________________________
Adapted from Talks on the Creed
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (© 1946)
6th Week of Easter - The Sacrament of Confession
"For this reason we believe that thou came forth from God." St. John, 16:30.
Some years after World War I the Prince of Wales visited a hospital for hopelessly wounded veterans. Beside each broken body he stopped, shook hands and spoke a word of encouragement. As he was led to the doorway the Prince asked a question: "I understood you had thirty-six patients here - but I've seen only twenty-nine."
The nurse explained that the others were too horribly maimed for him to see.
"Is it for my sake or theirs that you're not taking me there?" asked the Prince.
"For yours, sir."
"Then I insist you show me in."
Here too he stopped and thanked each wounded soldier for his sacrifice. Again he turned to his guide: "Where is the seventh? I have seen only six."
Again the nurse objected. "Please do not ask to see him, sir," she pleaded.
"But I must see him."
"I advise against it, Your Highness. It can do no good."
"I insist that you take me in," demanded the royal visitor.
The Prince followed the nurse into a darkened room to what was left of a human body - blind, twisted, hideously broken and disfigured. The Prince turned white, his lips were drawn, and tears trickled down his cheeks. Impetuously he bent down and kissed the cheeks of the broken hero.
There was another Prince who came down from His palace in heaven not only to visit and shake hands with those wounded in the war with sin, but to raise them up body and soul. Jesus healed broken bodies; Jesus healed broken souls. Several times He healed the body to prove that He could heal the soul. To the paralytic He said: "Thy sins are forgiven thee."
Then to prove His power to cure the soul, He cured the body. "That you, may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. . . Arise, take up thy pallet and go to thy house." St. Matthew, 9:2-7.
This power of forgiving sins Christ gave to His apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests of the Catholic Church, when He instituted the sacrament of confession: "Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." St. John, 20:23.
What is confession? Confession is a sacrament which forgives the sins both mortal and venial which we have committed after Baptism. It has the three marks, of a sacrament: An outward or external, sense perceptible sign, the inward grace, and the institution by Christ.
1. The outward, sense perceptible sign includes the acts of the penitent and the acts of the priest. In his heart the sinner awakens sorrow. With his lips he confesses his sins. By his deeds he makes satisfaction. We can see the upraised hand of the priest and hear his words of forgiveness: "I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
2. What we cannot see or hear or feel, the inward grace, is the giving back to the soul of sanctifying grace, which had been lost through mortal sin, or the increasing of that same grace, if it had not been lost.
Confession also gives sacramental graces, special helps to perform good works, to avoid the occasions of sin, to be happy in doing good, and to overcome temptation. This inner power of confession is too often unknown or forgotten. The sacrament not only takes away sin; it gives helps to avoid sin. It gives graces and spiritual health which the soul needs.
Sanctifying grace is like complete spiritual health. Mortal sin destroys that health. Confession gives it back. If that spiritual health has not been completely destroyed, then confession increases your health of soul. This is one of the best proofs of what Christ tells us today regarding His heavenly Father: "The Father himself loves you because you have loved me." St. John, 16:27.
3. We have referred briefly to the institution of this sacrament by Christ, and we will speak of it again. For the present keep thisin mind: Christ is God. As God He could and did forgive sins. And as God, He could and did give this power to those who were to do His work in the world. Jesus knew there would be sinners today as well as in the years while He walked this earth. He knew there would be paralytics today as well. He knew there would be Mary Magdalens and sinners of every type and stripe in our day. For us, the sinners of today, Jesus left the sacrament of mercy and forgiveness. In words of blazing clearness He gave the power of forgiving sin to the leaders of His Church.
This mercy without limit, this mercy becoming to a God, this mercy and forgiveness which Christ made available to all sinners without exception, this mercy is offered to us in the sacrament of confession. What the disciples exclaimed we will repeat: "For this reason we believe that thou came forth from God."
If an earthly, limited person like the Prince of Wales could bring cheer and encouragement to the broken bodies and spirits of those who had been wounded in a cruel war, surely the Prince of heaven and earth, unlimited in love, unlimited in mercy, unlimited in power, can stoop down, as He does in confession, and kiss not only the body but the soul also, back to spiritual health. Thank God for this. Amen.
____________________
Adapted from Talks on the Sacraments
by Fr. Arthur Tonne,OFM (© 1947)
Some years after World War I the Prince of Wales visited a hospital for hopelessly wounded veterans. Beside each broken body he stopped, shook hands and spoke a word of encouragement. As he was led to the doorway the Prince asked a question: "I understood you had thirty-six patients here - but I've seen only twenty-nine."
The nurse explained that the others were too horribly maimed for him to see.
"Is it for my sake or theirs that you're not taking me there?" asked the Prince.
"For yours, sir."
"Then I insist you show me in."
Here too he stopped and thanked each wounded soldier for his sacrifice. Again he turned to his guide: "Where is the seventh? I have seen only six."
Again the nurse objected. "Please do not ask to see him, sir," she pleaded.
"But I must see him."
"I advise against it, Your Highness. It can do no good."
"I insist that you take me in," demanded the royal visitor.
The Prince followed the nurse into a darkened room to what was left of a human body - blind, twisted, hideously broken and disfigured. The Prince turned white, his lips were drawn, and tears trickled down his cheeks. Impetuously he bent down and kissed the cheeks of the broken hero.
There was another Prince who came down from His palace in heaven not only to visit and shake hands with those wounded in the war with sin, but to raise them up body and soul. Jesus healed broken bodies; Jesus healed broken souls. Several times He healed the body to prove that He could heal the soul. To the paralytic He said: "Thy sins are forgiven thee."
Then to prove His power to cure the soul, He cured the body. "That you, may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins. . . Arise, take up thy pallet and go to thy house." St. Matthew, 9:2-7.
This power of forgiving sins Christ gave to His apostles and their successors, the bishops and priests of the Catholic Church, when He instituted the sacrament of confession: "Receive the Holy Spirit; whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." St. John, 20:23.
What is confession? Confession is a sacrament which forgives the sins both mortal and venial which we have committed after Baptism. It has the three marks, of a sacrament: An outward or external, sense perceptible sign, the inward grace, and the institution by Christ.
1. The outward, sense perceptible sign includes the acts of the penitent and the acts of the priest. In his heart the sinner awakens sorrow. With his lips he confesses his sins. By his deeds he makes satisfaction. We can see the upraised hand of the priest and hear his words of forgiveness: "I absolve you from your sins, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."
2. What we cannot see or hear or feel, the inward grace, is the giving back to the soul of sanctifying grace, which had been lost through mortal sin, or the increasing of that same grace, if it had not been lost.
Confession also gives sacramental graces, special helps to perform good works, to avoid the occasions of sin, to be happy in doing good, and to overcome temptation. This inner power of confession is too often unknown or forgotten. The sacrament not only takes away sin; it gives helps to avoid sin. It gives graces and spiritual health which the soul needs.
Sanctifying grace is like complete spiritual health. Mortal sin destroys that health. Confession gives it back. If that spiritual health has not been completely destroyed, then confession increases your health of soul. This is one of the best proofs of what Christ tells us today regarding His heavenly Father: "The Father himself loves you because you have loved me." St. John, 16:27.
3. We have referred briefly to the institution of this sacrament by Christ, and we will speak of it again. For the present keep thisin mind: Christ is God. As God He could and did forgive sins. And as God, He could and did give this power to those who were to do His work in the world. Jesus knew there would be sinners today as well as in the years while He walked this earth. He knew there would be paralytics today as well. He knew there would be Mary Magdalens and sinners of every type and stripe in our day. For us, the sinners of today, Jesus left the sacrament of mercy and forgiveness. In words of blazing clearness He gave the power of forgiving sin to the leaders of His Church.
This mercy without limit, this mercy becoming to a God, this mercy and forgiveness which Christ made available to all sinners without exception, this mercy is offered to us in the sacrament of confession. What the disciples exclaimed we will repeat: "For this reason we believe that thou came forth from God."
If an earthly, limited person like the Prince of Wales could bring cheer and encouragement to the broken bodies and spirits of those who had been wounded in a cruel war, surely the Prince of heaven and earth, unlimited in love, unlimited in mercy, unlimited in power, can stoop down, as He does in confession, and kiss not only the body but the soul also, back to spiritual health. Thank God for this. Amen.
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Adapted from Talks on the Sacraments
by Fr. Arthur Tonne,OFM (© 1947)
6th Week of Easter - Thou Shall Not Kill
"If you ask the Father anything in my name, he wilI give it to you." St. John, 16:23.
About 160 years ago or so there lived in Suabia, Germany, a splendid young man by the name of Meinrad. He sought quiet for prayer and meditation in the great Benedictine Order, which gave him permission to live alone on a mountain top, first in Germany and then in Switzerland, where he spent many prayerful days, days which were cruelly cut short when two robbers whom he befriended turned on him and put him to death. Instead of money they found only a hairshirt and books.
Although no one had seen the murder, the murderers were soon caught, because two tame crows that St. Meinrad had kept, followed the murderers wherever they went-into the cities, into their homes, into the taverns, everywhere cawing and fluttering, until suspicion was aroused and the two men were arrested and punished.
In memory of this divine punishment of murder, the Abbey of Reichenau, of which St. Meinrad had been a member, placed the figure of two crows on its coat of arms and seal.
Both sacred and human history are filled with such proofs of God's displeasure with those who deal in death. Killing has various forms:
1. Murder, or the deliberate taking of another's life on one's own authority, is a most serious sin that cries to heaven for vengeance. It may be:
The murderer takes to himself the right of God over human life. He robs man of his most precious possession-life. He often sends a soul into eternity without any preparation. He disrupts society, causes bitter grief and sets the stage for other murders.
2. Suicide, or taking one's own life, is also a serious sin, never permitted for any reason. It is for God to relieve you of the post of life in His way and in His time. Killing yourself doesn't help anything or anybody. Usually suicide is committed by the insane or those so emotionally unbalanced that they are not responsible. Some of the common causes of suicide are brooding over bad health or bad luck, heavy financial losses, incurable disease, the facing of punishment, or personal and family disgrace. Put your trust in God. He will see you through.
3. Mercy-killing, that is, putting to death one who is dying or suffering from an incurable disease, in order to put him out of his misery, is murder. It is never permitted - even when the patient freely and calmly gives his consent.
4. Willful and direct abortion is also a mortal sin. Doctors, nurses, parents, and all who cooperate to bring about the death of an infant either before or after its birth are guilty of murder.
Are we never allowed to take the life of another?
There are three kinds of justifiable killing, namely: self-defense, capital punishment, and a just war:
1. A man may kill another in self-defense in order to save his own life, the life of another, or to protect property of great value. You are not allowed to kill another just to preserve your reputation or good name, to prevent someone from trespassing on your property, or to protect property of little value.
2. The State has the right to punish with death if the crime is serious and the good of society requires a serious punishment. Such serious crimes are murder, treason, kidnapping. Capital punishment is permitted to prevent the criminal from doing further damage, to prevent others from crime through fear of execution. All the forms of law must be observed and a just and fair trial is absolutely necessary.
3. It is murder to kill if a war is unjust. If the war is just, soldiers are allowed and even obliged to kill in defense of their country, or in righting a wrong to their country. For a war to be just:
Today we will ask the heavenly Father, who has given us life, to help us to respect all human life in every way. We will ask the heavenly Father to give all men a respect for the life of others. We will realize, with God's help, the wickedness of all forms of killing. May all men keep this law of God. Amen.
_________________________
Adapted from Talks on the Commandments
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (© 1948)
About 160 years ago or so there lived in Suabia, Germany, a splendid young man by the name of Meinrad. He sought quiet for prayer and meditation in the great Benedictine Order, which gave him permission to live alone on a mountain top, first in Germany and then in Switzerland, where he spent many prayerful days, days which were cruelly cut short when two robbers whom he befriended turned on him and put him to death. Instead of money they found only a hairshirt and books.
Although no one had seen the murder, the murderers were soon caught, because two tame crows that St. Meinrad had kept, followed the murderers wherever they went-into the cities, into their homes, into the taverns, everywhere cawing and fluttering, until suspicion was aroused and the two men were arrested and punished.
In memory of this divine punishment of murder, the Abbey of Reichenau, of which St. Meinrad had been a member, placed the figure of two crows on its coat of arms and seal.
Both sacred and human history are filled with such proofs of God's displeasure with those who deal in death. Killing has various forms:
1. Murder, or the deliberate taking of another's life on one's own authority, is a most serious sin that cries to heaven for vengeance. It may be:
A. Planned and intended. as poisoning another to collect insurance.Our daily papers are splattered with the blood of those unjustly put to death through revenge, desire to remove a rival, for money or out of fear. That murder is sinful is clear from Sacred Scripture. "No murderer has eternal life abiding in him." I John, 3:15. "The voice of thy brother's blood cries to Me from the earth." Gen. 9:6.
B. Not planned, but directly done, as when a robber kills a policeman who suddenly appears on the scene.
C. Due to criminal negligence, as when a doctor's neglect causes the death of a patient.
The murderer takes to himself the right of God over human life. He robs man of his most precious possession-life. He often sends a soul into eternity without any preparation. He disrupts society, causes bitter grief and sets the stage for other murders.
2. Suicide, or taking one's own life, is also a serious sin, never permitted for any reason. It is for God to relieve you of the post of life in His way and in His time. Killing yourself doesn't help anything or anybody. Usually suicide is committed by the insane or those so emotionally unbalanced that they are not responsible. Some of the common causes of suicide are brooding over bad health or bad luck, heavy financial losses, incurable disease, the facing of punishment, or personal and family disgrace. Put your trust in God. He will see you through.
3. Mercy-killing, that is, putting to death one who is dying or suffering from an incurable disease, in order to put him out of his misery, is murder. It is never permitted - even when the patient freely and calmly gives his consent.
4. Willful and direct abortion is also a mortal sin. Doctors, nurses, parents, and all who cooperate to bring about the death of an infant either before or after its birth are guilty of murder.
Are we never allowed to take the life of another?
There are three kinds of justifiable killing, namely: self-defense, capital punishment, and a just war:
1. A man may kill another in self-defense in order to save his own life, the life of another, or to protect property of great value. You are not allowed to kill another just to preserve your reputation or good name, to prevent someone from trespassing on your property, or to protect property of little value.
2. The State has the right to punish with death if the crime is serious and the good of society requires a serious punishment. Such serious crimes are murder, treason, kidnapping. Capital punishment is permitted to prevent the criminal from doing further damage, to prevent others from crime through fear of execution. All the forms of law must be observed and a just and fair trial is absolutely necessary.
3. It is murder to kill if a war is unjust. If the war is just, soldiers are allowed and even obliged to kill in defense of their country, or in righting a wrong to their country. For a war to be just:
A. Every other means of settlement must have been tried first.If an individual Catholic knew positively that the war was unjust he could not fight in it. However, that is almost impossible to know. In general the State bears the responsibility. We Catholics are loyal; we follow the State; we obey the State, unless there are grave moral issues which would prevent us from doing so.
B. There must be a just cause in conscience.
C. The cause must be serious, that is, the good resulting from the war must completely outweigh the evils of war. Modern warfare has so many terrible evils, that there seems to be scarcely any evil or evils great enough to justify it.
D. The war must be waged in a just way.
Today we will ask the heavenly Father, who has given us life, to help us to respect all human life in every way. We will ask the heavenly Father to give all men a respect for the life of others. We will realize, with God's help, the wickedness of all forms of killing. May all men keep this law of God. Amen.
_________________________
Adapted from Talks on the Commandments
by Fr. Arthur Tonne, OFM (© 1948)
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