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The current conflict |
Some of us have been listening to observers such as Walid Phares who have written extensively on what we should expect in the near future. Indeed, Phares' book, The Coming Revolution: Struggle for Freedom in the Middle East
The occasional, often ill-considered thoughts of a Roman Catholic permanent deacon who is ever grateful to God for his existence. Despite the strangeness we encounter in this life, all the suffering we witness and endure, being is good, so good I am sometimes unable to contain my joy. Deo gratias!
Although I am an ordained deacon of the Catholic Church, the opinions expressed in this blog are my personal opinions. In offering these personal opinions I am not acting as a representative of the Church or any Church organization.
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The current conflict |
"In everything you do, act without grumbling or argument; prove yourselves innocent and straightforward, children of God beyond reproach in the midst of a twisted and depraved generation -- among whom you shine like stars in the sky." - Philippians 2:14-15Are we grumblers, or are we children of God who shine like stars?
Pray for all priests, and all consecrated men and women...and don't forget us deacons.Following the Holy Year for Priests, it is surely time to pray for consecrated women. Therefore, dear reader, we urge you to ask Ecclesiastical Authorities to dedicate a special year to give thanks to God for Nuns and to pray for Nuns and for more Nuns. What better way to do honour to St. Brigid?
Please proclaim an Holy Year for Nuns!
Ora pro populo, interveni pro clero, intercede pro devoto femineo sexu! [Pray for the people, plead for the clergy, intercede for devoted women.]
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Anthony Maschek and his fiance' |
My brothers and sisters, I am very grateful for this opportunity to be with you today and to take part in such a moving service of reparation and hope. I am especially thankful to our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, for his care for the Church in Ireland and for inviting me to be part of this Visitation.
On behalf of the Holy Father, I ask forgiveness for the sexual abuse of children perpetrated by priests and the past failures of the Church's hierarchy, here and in Rome, the failure to respond appropriately to the problem of sexual abuse. Publicly atoning for the Church's failures is an important element of asking the forgiveness of those who have been harmed by priests and bishops, whose actions - and inactions - gravely harmed the lives of children entrusted to their care.
The O'Malleys hail from County Mayo, a part of Ireland that was hallowed by St. Patrick's ministry there. They tell the story of a dramatic conversion of an Irish chieftain by the name of Ossian. A huge crowd assembled in a field to witness his baptism. St. Patrick arrived in his Bishop's vestments with his miter and staff. St. Patrick stuck his staff in the ground and began to preach a long sermon on the Catholic faith. The people noted that Ossian, who was standing directly in front of St. Patrick, began to sweat profusely, he grew pale and fainted dead away. Some people rushed over to help and they discovered to everyone's horror that St. Patrick had driven his staff through the man's foot.
When they were able to revive Ossian they said to him, "Why did you not say something?" And the fierce warrior replied , "I thought that it was part of the ceremony."
The warrior did not understand too much about liturgy and rituals, but he did understand that discipleship is often difficult. It means carrying the Cross. It is a costly grace and often we fall down on the job.
Jesus teaches us about His love in the Parable of the Good Samaritan where in a certain sense the Samaritan represents Christ, who is so moved to compassion by the sight of the man left half dead on the road to Jericho. The innocent victim of the crime is abandoned by all. The priests and levites turn their back on him, the police fail to protect him, the innkeeper profits from the tragedy. It is Christ who identifies with the man who is suffering and showers compassion on him.
Jesus is always on the side of the victim, bringing compassion and mercy. Jesus is not just the healer in the Gospel. He identifies with the sick, suffering, homeless, all innocent victims of violence and abuse and all survivors of sexual abuse. The Parable ends with injunction; "Go and do likewise!"; just as Jesus turns His love and compassion to those who have been violently attacked or sexually abused.
We want to be part of a Church that puts survivors, the victims of abuse first, ahead of self-interest, reputation and institutional needs.
We have no doubt of Jesus' compassion and love for the survivors even when they feel unloved, rejected, or disgraced. Our desire is that our Church reflect that love and concern for the survivors of sexual abuse and their families and be tireless in assuring the protection of children in our Church and in society.
From my own experience in several dioceses with the tragic evil of sexual abuse of minors I see that your wounds are a source of profound distress. Many survivors have struggled with addictions. Others have experienced greatly damaged relationships with parents, spouses and children. The suffering of families has been a terrible and very serious effect of the abuse. Some of you have even suffered the tragedy of a loved one having taken their own life because of the abuse perpetrated on them. The deaths of these beloved children of God weigh heavily on our hearts.
The wounds carried in Ireland as a result of this evil are deep and remind us of the wounds of the body of Christ. We think of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane as he experienced his own crisis. He, too, was overwhelmed with sorrow, betrayed and abandoned. Not only survivors of abuse and their family members, but many of the faithful and clergy throughout Ireland can echo our Lord's plaintive cry, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" But today, through the saving power of the Cross, we come together to share in each other's sorrows as well as our collective hope for the future. We come together to bind up the wounds we carry as a result of this crisis and to join in prayer for healing, reconciliation and renewed unity.
Based on the experience I have had with this Visitation, I believe there is a window of opportunity for the Church here to respond to the crisis in a way that will build a holier Church, that strives to be more humble even as it grows stronger. While we have understandably heard much anger and learned of much suffering, we have also witnessed a sincere desire to strengthen and rebuild the Church here. We have seen that there is a vast resource, a reservoir of faith and a genuine desire to work for reconciliation and renewal.
During the course of many meetings, I have been blessed to hear from many survivors and their families, lay women and men and religious and clergy who seek reconciliation and healing. Today's service, which survivors so generously assisted in planning and are participating in, gives testimony to the longing of so many to rebuild and renew this Archdiocese and the Church throughout Ireland.
Just as the Irish people persevered and preserved the faith when it was endangered, and carried it to many other countries, the commitment to sustain the faith provides the opportunity for the hard lessons of the crisis to benefit the Church in our quest to do penance for the sins of the past and to do everything possible to protect children in the present and in the future.
I would like to conclude my remarks by sharing another parable with you that further illustrates the demands of the Great Commandment which contains the whole Law and the prophets. The Japanese tell the story of a man who lived in a beautiful home on the top of a mountain. Each day he took a walk in his garden and looked out at the sea below. One day he spotted a tsunami on the horizon coming toward the shore and then he noticed a group of his neighbors having a picnic on the beach. The man was anxious to warn his neighbors, he shouted and waved his arms. But they were too far off, they could not hear nor see him. So the man set fire to his house. When the neighbors on the beach saw the smoke and flames some said let us climb the mountain to help our friend save his home. Others said: "That mountain is so high and we're having such fun, you go." Well, the ones who climbed the mountain to save their neighbor's home were themselves saved. Those who remained on the beach having fun perished when the tidal wave hit the shore.
The Gospel of Christ is about love, sacrifice, forgiveness, hope and salvation. The burning house on the top of the hill is the Cross, and it is the suffering of all those children who experienced abuse.
Climbing the mountain, we are not doing God a favor, we are saving our souls.
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Vintage Ham Radio Equipment of the 1950s |
Newly ordained Deacon Barnes (right) |
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Hippocrates treating a patient |
The Hippocratic Oath -- Traditional Text
I swear by Apollo Physician and Asclepius and Hygieia and Panaceia and all the gods and goddesses, making them my witnesses, that I will fulfill according to my ability and judgment this oath and this covenant:
To hold him who has taught me this art as equal to my parents and to live my life in partnership with him, and if he is in need of money to give him a share of mine, and to regard his offspring as equal to my brothers in male lineage and to teach them this art - if they desire to learn it - without fee and covenant; to give a share of precepts and oral instruction and all the other learning to my sons and to the sons of him who has instructed me and to pupils who have signed the covenant and have taken an oath according to the medical law, but no one else.Interesting, how "progressive" we are today, isn't it?
I will apply dietetic measures for the benefit of the sick according to my ability and judgment; I will keep them from harm and injustice.
I will neither give a deadly drug to anybody who asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly I will not give to a woman an abortive remedy. In purity and holiness I will guard my life and my art.
I will not use the knife, not even on sufferers from stone, but will withdraw in favor of such men as are engaged in this work.
Whatever houses I may visit, I will come for the benefit of the sick, remaining free of all intentional injustice, of all mischief and in particular of sexual relations with both female and male persons, be they free or slaves.
What I may see or hear in the course of the treatment or even outside of the treatment in regard to the life of men, which on no account one must spread abroad, I will keep to myself, holding such things shameful to be spoken about.
If I fulfill this oath and do not violate it, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and art, being honored with fame among all men for all time to come; if I transgress it and swear falsely, may the opposite of all this be my lot.
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Coptic Christian being beaten by devotees of Muslim Brotherhood |
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Episcopal Ordination of five bishops by Pope Benedict XVI |
"The Pastor must not be a marsh reed that bends in the wind, a servant of the spirit of the times. Being undaunted hence brave enough to go against current trends is an essential part of the Pastor’s task. He must not be a reed but on the contrary — in accordance with the image of the first Psalm – he must be like a tree with deep roots, sound and firmly-established. This has nothing to do with rigidity or inflexibility. Only where there is stability is there also growth."He goes on to address the mystery of faith as a firm foundation, but also says,
"And once again, the permanence and definitiveness of what we believe does not mean rigidity. John of the Cross compared the world of faith to a mine in which we discover ever new treasures — treasures in which the one faith is developed, the profession of God who shows himself in Christ. As Pastors of the Church we live this faith and thus can also proclaim it as the glad message which assures us of God’s love, and that we are loved by him."The pope also stresses the role of communio, "the communion with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ," as essential to the mission of the bishop, that one is "never a bishop on one's own":
"Dear friends, this is the purpose of the ministry of Bishops: that this chain of communion be not broken. This is the essence of the Apostolic Succession: to preserve communion with those who have encountered the Lord in a visible and tangible way and thus to keep Heaven open, the presence of God in our midst. It is only through communion with the Successors of the Apostles that we are also in touch with God incarnate. But the opposite is also true: only thanks to communion with God, only thanks to communion with Jesus Christ does this chain of witnesses remain unbroken."He continues by focusing on the Eucharist, the "breaking of the bread," telling the new bishops that,
"...the blessed Eucharist is the center of the Church and must be the center of our being as Christians and of our priestly life...Let us seek to celebrate the Eucharist, with ever deeper dedication and zeal, let us seek to structure our days in accordance with his standard, let us seek to let ourselves be modeled by it...Breaking the bread — this means at the same time sharing and communicating our love to others...Let us be careful that faith is always expressed in love and justice for one another and that our social conduct is inspired by faith; that faith is lived in love."Pope Benedict then turned to the final element of Luke's descriptive verse, "the prayers." I especially like his description of prayer as "very personal, a uniting of myself with God in my innermost depths...my struggle with him, my search for him, my gratitude for him and my joy in him." But, although personal, prayer is not private...
"Praying is essentially and also always praying in the “we” of God’s children. In this “we” alone are we children of Our Father, which the Lord taught us to pray. This “we” alone gives us access to the Father. On the one hand our prayer must become more and more personal, must touch and penetrate ever more deeply the nucleus of our “ego”. On the other, it must always be nourished by the communion of those praying, by the unity of the Body of Christ, in order truly to shape myself on the basis of God’s love."He concludes by referring to their vocation as "fishers of men" who must work often in the midst of storms...
"You are called to undertake tasks that concern the universal Church. You are called to let down the Gospel net into the stormy seas of our time in order to obtain people’s adherence to Christ; to lift them, so to speak, from the brackish waters of death and from the darkness that the light of Heaven does not penetrate. You must bring them to life on earth, in communion with Jesus Christ."As I stated above, it's a wonderful homily and you can read the complete text here: Papal Mass for Episcopal Ordination.
In other words, we are also called to carry out the Church's external mission, the evangelization of all the world. These two missions, the adoration of God and the evangelization of peoples, mirror the two great commandments that Jesus affirmed when asked by a "scholar of the law", "Teacher, which commandment in the law is the greatest?" Jesus' response..."All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." [Mt 28:18-20]
"You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself." [Mt 22:37-39]What greater love can one show for one's neighbor than to share with him the Good News of Jesus Christ, the "words of eternal life." Evangelization, then, is one means, perhaps the most important means, to the fulfillment of second of the great commandments.
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father.” [Mt 5:13-16]
Allah is our objective. The Prophet is our leader. Qur'an is our law. Jihad is our way. Dying in the way of Allah is our highest hope.The Brotherhood's hatred of Israel, Jews in general, and all of Western civilization, is almost palpable. And their stated goal is to bring the entire world under Islamic law. They also hate Christians and have encouraged attacks on them and their churches. Here's an example from this week...
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2nd prize, 2010 potpouri category: Balcony in the Borgo district of Rome |
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Honorable mention, 2010 architecture category: Duomo in Orveito, Italy |