The cardinal charmed a small crowd in Dallas recently with his acceptance speech for an award he got for his interfaith work. God, he said, deserves the credit for anything he's achieved as a cleric.Salt Lake Tribune article.
"When you praise a suit well-made, you are praising the tailor," he said with a smile. "Not the wood that the suit is put on in the tailor shop."
Saturday, January 29, 2005
Cardinal Arinze cautiously talks about violence, love
Challenges for Legionaries and Regnum Christi
Zenit Conducts an Interview With New General Director, Father Álvaro Corcuera and dispels the 'theories' regarding Fr. Maciel's decision not to seek re-election...
Three St. Louis Priests Are Laicized
Archbishop Raymond Burke said Friday that three St. Louis priests had been laicized, or defrocked, by the Vatican.Link to Post article.
Burke had asked Pope John Paul II to return Michael McGrath, Donald Straub and Robert Yim to "the lay state," according to a statement issued by the archdiocese, because "all three had credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor against them."
In the archdiocese's statement, [Archbishop] Burke said he "expresses his deepest regrets to all who have been harmed by these priests and to anyone who has been abused by a member of the clergy," and urged others abused by a member of the clergy to contact the archdiocese or civil authorities.
Jamie Allman, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said the Vatican was reviewing more cases of abusive priests from the archdiocese but would not say how many or provide names. He did, however, confirm that one of those was the Rev. Bryan Kuchar. He described that case as pending. Kuchar, who is fighting the laicization process, is serving three years in the St. Louis County jail after a jury found him guilty last year of three counts of statutory sodomy for molesting a 14-year-old boy in 1995.
Gospel for Saturday, 3rd Week in Ordinary Time
From: Mark 4:35-41
The Calming of the Storm
[35] On that day, when evening had come, He (Jesus) said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." [36] And leaving the crowd, they took Him with them just as He was, in the boat. And other boats were with Him. [37] And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat so that the boat was already filling. [38] But He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care if we perish?" [39] And He awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. [40] He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?" [41] And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey Him?"
***********
Commentary:
35-41. The episode of the calming of the storm, the memory of which must have often helped the Apostles regain their serenity in the midst of struggles and difficulties, also helps us never lose the supernatural way of looking at things: a Christian's life is like a ship: "As a vessel on the sea is exposed to a thousand dangers--pirates, quicksands, hidden rocks, tempests--so man in this life, is encompassed with perils, arising from the temptations of Hell, from the occasions of sin, from the scandals or bad counsels of men, from human respect, and, above all from the passions of corrupt nature [...]. This should not cause him to lose confidence. Rather [...] when you find yourself assaulted by a violent passion [...] take whatever steps you can to avoid the occasions [of sin] and place your reliance on God [...]: when the tempest is violent, the pilot never takes his eyes from the light which guides him to port. In like manner, we should keep our eyes always turned to God, who alone can deliver us from the many dangers to which we are exposed" (St. Augustine, "Sermon 51; for the Fourth Sunday After Epiphany).
****************
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 Calming of the Storm
[35] On that day, when evening had come, He (Jesus) said to them, "Let us go across to the other side." [36] And leaving the crowd, they took Him with them just as He was, in the boat. And other boats were with Him. [37] And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat so that the boat was already filling. [38] But He was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care if we perish?" [39] And He awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. [40] He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?" [41] And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey Him?"
***********
Commentary:
35-41. The episode of the calming of the storm, the memory of which must have often helped the Apostles regain their serenity in the midst of struggles and difficulties, also helps us never lose the supernatural way of looking at things: a Christian's life is like a ship: "As a vessel on the sea is exposed to a thousand dangers--pirates, quicksands, hidden rocks, tempests--so man in this life, is encompassed with perils, arising from the temptations of Hell, from the occasions of sin, from the scandals or bad counsels of men, from human respect, and, above all from the passions of corrupt nature [...]. This should not cause him to lose confidence. Rather [...] when you find yourself assaulted by a violent passion [...] take whatever steps you can to avoid the occasions [of sin] and place your reliance on God [...]: when the tempest is violent, the pilot never takes his eyes from the light which guides him to port. In like manner, we should keep our eyes always turned to God, who alone can deliver us from the many dangers to which we are exposed" (St. Augustine, "Sermon 51; for the Fourth Sunday After Epiphany).
****************
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.
Friday, January 28, 2005
Research and Experiments on "Chimeras" Proceeding World Wide
January 27, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The January 25 edition of National Geographic News features a story on new research being done around the world to create hybrids of humans and animals.A revealing article of scientists gone mad...
In the last few years, legislation has been passed in various countries that pro-life leaders worry will allow experiments to create embryos made from human and animal cells. Such artificial creatures are, revealingly, called by scientists "chimeras," a word, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, which means "a wild, impossible scheme or unreal conception."
LifeSiteNews article.
Archbishop Burke - Inspiring Leader
Editor:This 'Letter to the Editor' was in today's St. Louis Review and I couldn't let it go by with posting it as it coincides quite well with his column below on "Praying and Marching for Life".
Archbishop Raymond Burke, marching in support of life, has shown the way for other Catholic leaders to get involved in communities throughout the country.
If they don’t, abortions will continue; we will for sure lose "Christ" in Christmas, "God" in our Pledge of Allegiance as well as open displays of the Ten Commandments and crosses on government seals and elsewhere, etc.
Many Catholics are waiting to march behind such banners with their own prominent clergy out in front. Thank you and God bless you, Archbishop Burke, for being such an inspiration.
Margie Tiritilli
Montebello, Calif.
Source.
Insurers Sue L.A. Archdiocese for Abuse Data
Three insurance companies have sued the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, accusing Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of refusing to share information about alleged sex abuse by priests, and precluding scrutiny of his activities as their supervisor.Unbelievable - $1 Billion in damages...
The insurers have asked a judge to order Mahony to provide documents that could be used to defend the church or to relieve them of liability stemming from allegations by more than 535 people who say they were molested by priests since the 1930s.
"For whatever reasons, the archbishop's [Cardinal Mahony's] apparent goal is to obviate any meaningful disclosure of the facts and circumstances of these claims, and yet to pressure [the insurers] to contribute enormous sums of money" to settle the cases, according to the lawsuit.
...
More than $1 billion in damages could be assessed against the church, the insurance companies stated in the lawsuit. Of that total, the three insurers are "potentially at risk for hundreds of millions of dollars," said Raymond P. Boucher, court-appointed liaison counsel for the alleged victims in the Southern California clergy abuse cases.
No mention is made, however, of the spiritual costs - of the souls which might be eternally lost due to these scandalous crimes...
Article here.
Eucharist, not music or priest, must be focus of Mass, says Cardinal Arinze
DALLAS (CNS) -- The celebration of the Eucharist is "the supreme act of worship" for Catholics, and is at the "very heart of our religion," a top Vatican cardinal told a crowd of nearly 2,000 gathered in Dallas for a liturgical conference. Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, was the keynote speaker at the 43rd annual Southwest Liturgical Conference, held Jan. 18-21.What a wonderful blessing it must be to be able to attend a conference with a speaker such a Cardinal Arinze. Anyone who has heard him or seen him certainly would understand this. I am looking forward to his coming here to St Louis for a liturgical conference in April.
Source.
Life Teen co-founders sued
Two co-founders of Life Teen, the nation's largest Catholic youth ministry based in the Valley, were accused Thursday in a lawsuit of covering up and helping carry out sexual attacks on a 14-year-old boy two decades ago.This is not the full story. There appears to be more:
The lawsuit, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court, also claimed that the Life Teen program at St. Timothy's parish in Mesa had "a social culture which inappropriately focused upon sexual activity . . . and fostered an environment that led to inappropriate sexual behavior."
Named as defendants in the suit were Life Teen co-founders, Monsignor Dale J. Fushek and Phil Baniewicz, along with former priest Mark Lehman, resigned Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien, Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, the Diocese of Phoenix, St. Timothy's Parish and Life Teen Inc., the program founded at St. Timothy's parish in 1985.
The lawsuit repeated and expanded allegations brought to the diocese last month by William J. Cesolini, who said he was sodomized at St. Tim's parish in 1985 by Lehman while Fushek watched and performed sexual acts on himself without stopping to help or report the attack to authorities.He gradually "recovered" the details...
Cesolini, a one-time seminarian, said he regained his memory of the decades-old molestations in February 2003 after another priest made an unwanted sexual advance on him. He went to a church-paid counselor, who helped him gradually recover the details of the trauma. (Emphasis mine)
Article.
Archbishop Flynn "Clarifies" Previous Remarks
In a Jan. 26 statement, Archbishop Flynn said he met in mid-December with Cardinal Francis Arinze, head of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, to discuss "the difficult pastoral situation" of Rainbow Sash.Great! Further study is needed to develop a uniform approach in addressing those who proudly display their opposition to the Church and Church teaching yet still demand to receive Holy Communion. I suppose the Church has no guidelines regarding Holy Communion and manifest public sin and scandal?
Archbishop Flynn said he was issuing the statement to clarify remarks he made in an interview with Catholic News Service in December.
Cardinal Arinze "did not in fact suggest an immediate change to the policy in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis," Archbishop Flynn said in his statement.
"However, he did clearly indicate that this situation merits further study and that ideally all of the bishops who have pastoral care for the members of this movement should seek to adopt a uniform approach," the statement said. "This recommendation needs to be reviewed by those bishops involved in the near future."
I, for one, am no longer shocked to read stories such as this about those who appear to be in some sort of "damage control" mode because of a certain "nuancing" or "spinning" of certain facts.
I am fairly resigned these days to praying for those who hold positions of authority in the Church but fail to exercise that authority or fulfill their obligations.
CNS article here.
Archbishop Burke Reflects on the National March for Life
Our most effective means of carrying forward the apostolate of respect for human life is prayer. Given the gravity of the attack on innocent and defenseless human life in our nation, we must pray daily for the victims of abortion and for those who promote and provide procured abortion. We must also participate in the public prayer and devotion of the Church — Mass, eucharistic devotion and other devotions like the praying of the rosary — for the intention of the respect for human life.These are words which must be taken to heart!
It is worthwhile to remember this as well and to mark in on our calendars:
Every third Saturday of the month, Mass is celebrated at 8 a.m. at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis for the pro-life apostolate. It is followed by the eucharistic adoration in the basilica and a march to the Planned Parenthood facility, while praying 15 decades of the rosary, and is concluded with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at the cathedral basilica.
Archbishop Burke's complete article on "Praying and marching for life" can be read here.
Papal Message for Lent 2005
Each year, the Lenten Season is set before us as a good opportunity for the intensification of prayer and penance, opening hearts to the docile welcoming of the divine will. During Lent, a spiritual journey is outlined for us that prepares us to relive the Great Mystery of the Death and Resurrection of Christ. This is done primarily by listening to the Word of God more devoutly and by practicing mortification more generously, thanks to which it is possible to render greater assistance to those in need.This is well worth reading for reflection as we approach the season of Lent...Link.
This year, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to bring to your attention a theme which is rather current, well-illustrated by the following verse from Deuteronomy: "Loving the Lord ... means life to you, and length of days..." (30:20).
Elderly Have a Key Role in Society, Says Pope John Paul II
John Paul II in his Message for Lent exhorted the faithful to express their affection and respect for the elderly, in the face of proposals to introduce euthanasia.Ful article here.
In the text, whose title is a phrase from the Book of Deuteronomy "Loving the Lord ... Means Life to You, and Length of Days," the Holy Father expresses the hope that this Lent will help "to deepen the awareness of the role that the elderly are called to play in society and in the Church."
"The care of the elderly, above all when they pass through difficult moments, must be of great concern to all the faithful, especially in the ecclesial communities of Western societies, where the problem is particularly present," said the 84-year-old Pope.
Gospel for Jan 28, Memorial: St. Thomas Aquinas, Priest & Doctor of the Church
From: Mark 4:26-34
Parables of the Seed and of the Mustard Seed
[26] And He (Jesus) said, "The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, [27] and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. [28] The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. [29] But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest is come."
[30] And He said, "With what can we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? [31] It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; [32] yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."
The End of the Parables Discourse
[33] With many such parables He spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; [34] He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to His own disciples He explained everything.
**************
Commentary:
26-29. Farmers spare no effort to prepare the ground for the sowing; but once the grain is sown there is nothing more they can do until the harvest; the grain develops by itself. Our Lord uses this comparison to describe the inner strength that causes the Kingdom of God on earth to grow up to the day of harvest (cf. Joel 3:13 and Revelation 14:15), that is, the day of the Last Judgment.
Jesus is telling His disciples about the Church: the preaching of the Gospel, the generously sown seed, will unfailingly yield its fruit, independently of who sows or who reaps: it is God who gives the growth (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9). It will all happen "he knows not how", without men being fully aware of it.
The Kingdom of God also refers to the action of grace in each soul: God silently works a transformation in us, whether we sleep or watch, causing resolutions to take shape in our soul--resolutions to be faithful, to surrender ourselves, to respond to grace--until we reach "mature manhood" (cf. Ephesians 4:13). Even though it is necessary for man to make this effort, the real initiative lies with God, "because it is the Holy Spirit who, with His inspirations, gives a supernatural tone to our thoughts, desires and actions. It is He who leads us to receive Christ's teaching and to assimilate it in a profound way. It is He who gives us the light by which we perceive our personal calling and the strength to carry out all that God expects of us. If we are docile to the Holy Spirit, the image of Christ will be found more and more fully in us, and we will be brought closer every day to God the Father. `For whoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God' (Romans 8:14)" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 135).
30-32. The main meaning of this parable has to do with the contrast between the great and the small. The seed of the Kingdom of God on earth is something very tiny to begin with (Luke 12:32; Acts 1:15); but it will grow to be a big tree. Thus we see how the small initial group of disciples grows in the early years of the Church (cf Acts 2:47; 6:7; 12:24), and spreads down the centuries and becomes a great multitude "which no man could number" (Revelation 7:9). This mysterious growth which our Lord refers to also occurs in each soul: "the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you" (Luke 17:21); we can see a prediction of this in the words of Psalm 92:12: "The righteous grow like a cedar in Lebanon." To allow the mercy of God to exalt us, to make us grow, we must make ourselves small, humble (Ezekiel 17:22-24; Luke 18:9-14).
***************
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.
Parables of the Seed and of the Mustard Seed
[26] And He (Jesus) said, "The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, [27] and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. [28] The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. [29] But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest is come."
[30] And He said, "With what can we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? [31] It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; [32] yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."
The End of the Parables Discourse
[33] With many such parables He spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; [34] He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to His own disciples He explained everything.
**************
Commentary:
26-29. Farmers spare no effort to prepare the ground for the sowing; but once the grain is sown there is nothing more they can do until the harvest; the grain develops by itself. Our Lord uses this comparison to describe the inner strength that causes the Kingdom of God on earth to grow up to the day of harvest (cf. Joel 3:13 and Revelation 14:15), that is, the day of the Last Judgment.
Jesus is telling His disciples about the Church: the preaching of the Gospel, the generously sown seed, will unfailingly yield its fruit, independently of who sows or who reaps: it is God who gives the growth (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:5-9). It will all happen "he knows not how", without men being fully aware of it.
The Kingdom of God also refers to the action of grace in each soul: God silently works a transformation in us, whether we sleep or watch, causing resolutions to take shape in our soul--resolutions to be faithful, to surrender ourselves, to respond to grace--until we reach "mature manhood" (cf. Ephesians 4:13). Even though it is necessary for man to make this effort, the real initiative lies with God, "because it is the Holy Spirit who, with His inspirations, gives a supernatural tone to our thoughts, desires and actions. It is He who leads us to receive Christ's teaching and to assimilate it in a profound way. It is He who gives us the light by which we perceive our personal calling and the strength to carry out all that God expects of us. If we are docile to the Holy Spirit, the image of Christ will be found more and more fully in us, and we will be brought closer every day to God the Father. `For whoever are led by the Spirit of God, they are the children of God' (Romans 8:14)" ([St] J. Escriva, "Christ Is Passing By", 135).
30-32. The main meaning of this parable has to do with the contrast between the great and the small. The seed of the Kingdom of God on earth is something very tiny to begin with (Luke 12:32; Acts 1:15); but it will grow to be a big tree. Thus we see how the small initial group of disciples grows in the early years of the Church (cf Acts 2:47; 6:7; 12:24), and spreads down the centuries and becomes a great multitude "which no man could number" (Revelation 7:9). This mysterious growth which our Lord refers to also occurs in each soul: "the Kingdom of God is in the midst of you" (Luke 17:21); we can see a prediction of this in the words of Psalm 92:12: "The righteous grow like a cedar in Lebanon." To allow the mercy of God to exalt us, to make us grow, we must make ourselves small, humble (Ezekiel 17:22-24; Luke 18:9-14).
***************
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.
Thursday, January 27, 2005
Knights of Columbus Challenged by Canadian Lesbians...
...for Refusing to Rent Hall for "Wedding" Reception
Some may have read or heard about this recently, but this is an update which I attempted to post but for some reason failed to post properly..Here is another try:
Some may have read or heard about this recently, but this is an update which I attempted to post but for some reason failed to post properly..Here is another try:
In 2003, Deborah Chymyshyn and Tracey Smith rented a Knights of Columbus hall in Port Coquitlam. When the Knights became aware that it was to be for a homosexual couple, they cancelled the booking. The B.C. Human Rights Tribunal began hearing their case on Monday and a ruling is expected tomorrow [today].Details at LifeSiteNews here.
Despite the fulsome praise from some Canadian bishops, it is notable that the Supreme Court offered no protection for non-clerical objectors. Thus, Christian groups such as the Knights of Columbus and the Catholic Women’s League, not being priests who are asked to officiate, are just as vulnerable as always to gay activist attacks in the courts and Human Rights Tribunals.
Right of the Faithful to Choose Priests, Bishops?
It is, according to groups such as this...At first, I thought I was reading something from one of our own country's groups of dissent. But this comes from the land 'down under':
Source.
Catholics should have a greater say in the appointment of their pastors and their Bishops, say Australian Reforming Catholics (ARC) and apologies given to gays, the divorced, Aboriginal people and all discriminated against by unjust Church structures.More people to add to our prayer lists...
The group, which met last September amid contraversy when Cardinal Pell banned them from Catholic land, issued a declaration arising from the conference, or 'campfire'.
The spokesperson for Australian Reforming Catholics, John Buggy, says that current Catholic governance stuctures should go the way of slavery and the subjagation of women. "The same thing needs to happen to absolute minority rule," he said.
Source.
A Son of the Church of Pius XII Breaks the Silence on His Sanctity
The beatification of pope Pacelli brings division again. Some Jews and Catholics reject it. Pietro De Marco defends it. And he explains what is the real miracle accomplished by this pope.A good article about Pius XII.
Link.
Humble Prayer Moves God's Heart, Says Pope
Prayer, especially in times of despair and anguish, moves the heart of God if offered with humility, says John Paul II. The Pope gave that commentary on Psalm 114(116), a song of thanksgiving raised by the man at prayer, at today's general audience...Source
"It is a brief but intense prayer of the man who, finding himself in a desperate situation, holds fast to the only plank of salvation," said the Holy Father...
"Once saved, the person at prayer proclaims that the Lord is 'gracious and just,' more than that, 'merciful,'" he said. "This last adjective, in the Hebrew original, makes reference to the tenderness of a mother.
"Genuine trust always sees God as love, even if at times it is difficult to understand his actions. It is certain, nevertheless, that 'The Lord protects the simple.' Therefore, in misery and abandonment, one can always count on him, 'Father of the fatherless, defender of widows.'"
The Pope continued: "Invoked with faith, the Lord extended his hand, broke the coils that encircled the person at prayer, dried the tears from his eyes, and stopped his precipitous descent into the infernal abyss."
The song, he reminded the faithful, "ends with a scene of light: The person at prayer returns to 'the land of the living,' that is, to the paths of the world, to 'walk before the Lord.'"
Gospel forThursday, 3rd Week in Ordinary Time
From: Mark 4:21-25
Parables of the Lamp and the Measure
[21] And He (Jesus) said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not on a stand? [22] For there is nothing hid, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. [23] If any man has ears to hear, let him hear." [24] And He said to them, "Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. [25] For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
**************
Commentary:
21. A "bushel" was a container used for measuring cereals and vegetables. It held a little over eight liters (two gallons).
22. This parable contains a double teaching. Firstly, it says that Christ's doctrine should not be kept hidden; rather, it must be preached throughout the whole world. We find the same idea elsewhere in the Gospels: "what you hear whispered, proclaim it upon the house-tops" (Matthew 10:27); "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole of creation..." (Mark 16:15). The other teaching is that the Kingdom which Christ proclaims has such ability to penetrate all hearts that, at the end of time, when Jesus comes again, not a single human action, in favor or against Christ, will not become public and manifest.
24-25. Our Lord never gets tired of asking the Apostles, the seed which will produce the Church, to listen carefully to the teaching He is giving: they are receiving a treasure for which they will be held to account. "To him who has will more be given...": he who responds to grace will be given more grace and will yield more and more fruit; but he who does not will become more and more impoverished (cf. Matthew 25:14-30). Therefore, there is no limit to the development of the theological virtues: "If you say `Enough,' you are already dead" (St. Augustine, "Sermon 51"). A soul who wants to make progress in the interior life will pray along these lines: "Lord, may I have due measure in everything, except in Love" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 247).
************
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.
Parables of the Lamp and the Measure
[21] And He (Jesus) said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not on a stand? [22] For there is nothing hid, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. [23] If any man has ears to hear, let him hear." [24] And He said to them, "Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. [25] For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
**************
Commentary:
21. A "bushel" was a container used for measuring cereals and vegetables. It held a little over eight liters (two gallons).
22. This parable contains a double teaching. Firstly, it says that Christ's doctrine should not be kept hidden; rather, it must be preached throughout the whole world. We find the same idea elsewhere in the Gospels: "what you hear whispered, proclaim it upon the house-tops" (Matthew 10:27); "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole of creation..." (Mark 16:15). The other teaching is that the Kingdom which Christ proclaims has such ability to penetrate all hearts that, at the end of time, when Jesus comes again, not a single human action, in favor or against Christ, will not become public and manifest.
24-25. Our Lord never gets tired of asking the Apostles, the seed which will produce the Church, to listen carefully to the teaching He is giving: they are receiving a treasure for which they will be held to account. "To him who has will more be given...": he who responds to grace will be given more grace and will yield more and more fruit; but he who does not will become more and more impoverished (cf. Matthew 25:14-30). Therefore, there is no limit to the development of the theological virtues: "If you say `Enough,' you are already dead" (St. Augustine, "Sermon 51"). A soul who wants to make progress in the interior life will pray along these lines: "Lord, may I have due measure in everything, except in Love" ([St] J. Escriva, "The Way", 247).
************
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.
Wednesday, January 26, 2005
Revisiting "Liturgical Dance"
Cardinal Francis Arinze, prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, has recently and publicly criticized introducing dance into the Liturgy, as it risks reducing this sacred rite to a spectacle.Adoremus has a new article on this subject, which has been termed, (quite appropriately it seems), "Leotardation" by The Curt Jester
In an address in 2003, the cardinal responded to a question on "liturgical dance":
"There has never been a document from our Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments saying that dance is approved in the Mass"; and he noted that "the tradition of the Latin Church has not known the dance. It is something that people are introducing in the last ten years -- or twenty years".
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