God Offers Us Freedom From Whatever Weighs Us Down

HOLY FATHER'S CHRISTMAS MESSAGE AIRED ON THE PROGRAM "THOUGHT FOR THE DAY" OF THE BBC , 24 DECEMBER 2010

On the morning of Christmas Eve the BBC of London transmitted a radio message, recorded last Wednesday, by the Holy Father Benedict XVI for the "Thought of the Day" program, in which, recalling his September visit, the Pope sends Christmas greetings to the citizens of the United Kingdom and to all listeners. Here is the transcript of the message.


THE HOLY FATHER'S MESSAGE

Recalling with great fondness my four-day visit to the United Kingdom last September, I am glad to have the opportunity to greet you once again, and indeed to greet listeners everywhere as we prepare to celebrate the birth of Christ. Our thoughts turn back to a moment in history when God's chosen people, the children of Israel, were living in intense expectation. They were waiting for the Messiah that God had promised to send, and they pictured him as a great leader who would rescue them from foreign domination and restore their freedom.

God is always faithful to his promises, but he often surprises us in the way he fulfils them. The child that was born in Bethlehem did indeed bring liberation, but not only for the people of that time and place - he was to be the Saviour of all people throughout the world and throughout history. And it was not a political liberation that he brought, achieved through military means: rather, Christ destroyed death for ever and restored life by means of his shameful death on the Cross. And while he was born in poverty and obscurity, far from the centres of earthly power, he was none other than the Son of God. Out of love for us he took upon himself our human condition, our fragility, our vulnerability, and he opened up for us the path that leads to the fullness of life, to a share in the life of God himself. As we ponder this great mystery in our hearts this Christmas, let us give thanks to God for his goodness to us, and let us joyfully proclaim to those around us the good news that God offers us freedom from whatever weighs us down: he gives us hope, he brings us life.

Dear Friends from Scotland, England, Wales, and indeed every part of the English-speaking world, I want you to know that I keep all of you very much in my prayers during this Holy Season. I pray for your families, for your children, for those who are sick, and for those who are going through any form of hardship at this time. I pray especially for the elderly and for those who are approaching the end of their days. I ask Christ, the light of the nations, to dispel whatever darkness there may be in your lives and to grant to every one of you the grace of a peaceful and joyful Christmas. May God bless all of you!

Fight Banal Sex (No al Sexo Banal)

That would make a great bumper sticker to summarize the in-context meaning of the Holy Father's recent statement on the harmful trivialization of sexuality, which recently brought so much publicity.

"...[T]he sheer fixation on the condom implies a banalization of sexuality, which, after all, is precisely the dangerous source of the attitude of no longer seeing sexuality as the expression of love, but only a sort of drug that people administer to themselves. This is why the fight against the banalization of sexuality is also a part of the struggle to ensure that sexuality is treated as a positive value and to enable it to have a positive effect on the whole of man's being..." (Light of the World, p. 119)

Immediately after comes the distorted message.

"Merry Christmas" Apostolate

Just say it!

Say it loud and clear, with cheer, and for all to hear!

Don't be defensive. Take the initiative! Beat them to the punch line! Greet them before they greet you. See how many times you can say it in a day! Say it especially after the 25th of December (at least until the day of the Circumcision [octave day of Christmas: 1 January; and after until the feast of the Three Kings--6 January)! And, actually, 2 February is the final feast of Christmas (the Presentation of the first born in the temple on the 4oth day!). Christmas is 40 days!

Say it even after people think it's gone in the hopes to perplex and elicit questions to instruct about the octave day (his naming and Circumcision according to the Jewish law--New Year's is Christmas!) or about the Three Kings' feast (which is the day for presents in many national traditions.

Merry Christmas!

If someone says "Happy Holidays" look him intently and lovingly in the eye and serenely respond with a less cliche Christmas greeting. Say, for example:

"Jesus Christ is born."

"Emmanuel: God is with us."

"The Virgin conceived and bore the Son of God."

"Glory to God in the highest and peace to his people on earth."

"Praised be Jesus Christ."

"Long live Christmas and the Christ child!" (My personal favorite.)

Regina Prophetarum

Luke 1:46-56

Mary, giving God to the world, is the Queen of the Prophets. They brought the Word to the world, she brings the Word made Flesh through her virginal womb. She gives us God! just like the Church.

Pedophilia's Ideological Foundations

In his 20 December annual Christmas review of the year address to the Roman Curia the Holy Father indicated the perverse theory which provides the basis for widespread abuse: viz. relativism.

"In the 1970s, paedophilia was theorized as something fully in conformity with man and even with children. This, however, was part of a fundamental perversion of the concept of ethos. It was maintained – even within the realm of Catholic theology – that there is no such thing as evil in itself or good in itself. There is only a "better than" and a "worse than". Nothing is good or bad in itself. Everything depends on the circumstances and on the end in view. Anything can be good or also bad, depending upon purposes and circumstances. Morality is replaced by a calculus of consequences, and in the process it ceases to exist. The effects of such theories are evident today. Against them, Pope John Paul II, in his 1993 Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor, indicated with prophetic force in the great rational tradition of Christian ethos the essential and permanent foundations of moral action. Today, attention must be focused anew on this text as a path in the formation of conscience. It is our responsibility to make these criteria audible and intelligible once more for people today as paths of true humanity, in the context of our paramount concern for mankind."

Be Constant in Prayer

"Real prayer begins when you pray when you don't want to."

I think the point is that great habits (virtues) are formed by overcoming one's whims. And...faith is expressed in fidelity.

Make your vows to the Lord and keep them! Then you will prove that you believe in Him.

Homosexuality: Worse than Rape and Incest

Homo-sex is entirely repugnant to God, even more than the rape of virgins ("I have two daughters..." Gen. 19:8) and incest ("So the two daughters of Lot were with child by their father" Gen. 19:36).

"And the Lord rained upon Sodom and Gomorrha brimstone and fire from the Lord out of heaven." (Gen. 19:24) He destroyed them all, while saving Lot: the incestuous ravisher of virgins!

What a statement on the immeasurable evil of homosexuality! (See also Romans 1 for Saint Paul's assessment of homo-sex).

Thought for the day (based on the Mass reading)

The unique and prophetically specific sign of Christmas is that the Virgin is with Child. (cf. Is. 7:14) [That is why the preferred icon of Christmas is the Virgin and Child: i.e. Virgo ante, in et post partum.]

Saint Joseph the Chaste's role is to guarantee it! (cf. Matt. 1:18-24: yesterday's Gospel)

Celibacy and Homosexuality

Four quotes from Light of the World.

"Homosexuality is incompatible with the priestly vocation. Otherwise, celibacy itself would lose its meaning as a renunciation." p. 152

"Respect for man (including men with homosexual inclination) is absolutely fundamental and decisive. At the same time, though, sexuality has an instrinsic meaning and direction, which is not homosexual." p. 151

"I believe that celibacy becomes a very meaningful sign, and above all becomes possible to live, when priests begin to form communities. It is important for priests not to live off on their own somewhere, in isolation, but to accompany one another in small communities, to support one another, and so to experience, and constantly realize afresh, their communion in service to Christ and in renunciation for the sake of the Kingdom." p. 149

"Celibacy is always, shall we say, an affront to what man normally thinks. It is something that can only be done, and is only credible, if there is a God and if celibacy is my doorway into the Kingdom of God. In this sense, celibacy is a special kind of sign. The scandal that it provokes consists precisely in the fact that there are people who believe these things..." p. 149

Perhaps one safeguard against the present isolation of priests might be stricter adherence to (and enforcement by the competent ecclesial authority of) the present norms on priestly attire. Priestly fraternity would be greatly increased if priests publicly--socially--dressed always as priests. They would have a visible and strong bond with each other.

For example: just imagine if all of the priests in New York City began today to religiously wear their public clerical attire! How it would transform the dignity of the priesthood and of Catholicism and of New York, the nation and the world. It would greatly strengthen each priest in his commitment to God. Just that simple habitual act of priestly obedience and solidarity. It would also more effectively keep priests out of places they should not go ==> thereby buttressing their celibate commitment on the practical level. By never being "off", priests would strengthen each other and the world beyond measure.

Something else that would help is getting rid of the ubiquitous confessional rooms and bring back the traditional confessional with a wall between priest and penitent. You have heard of the "protecting God's children" campaign. We need a parallel "protecting God's priests" campaign by not putting priests in the most precarious situation of being repeatedly and regularly behind closed doors in the most intimate confessional conversations with people. How is it that the bishops, who are supposedly so concerned with eliminating priest sexual misconduct have not addressed the very dangerous situation of the closed confessional room. Previous to the 1960's it was forbidden for a priest to hear to confessions of women, for instance, in a closed room! The confessional is the proper place for priestly counsel of women and children according to the age old wisdom of the Church.

The adage coined by Saint Teresa of Avila regarding the distance and necessary precautions in spiritual direction and confession is: entre santa y santo paredes de cal y canto. Which means that for nothing to happen (even between saints!) you need a very deep stone wall between them!!! Why are our bishops so out of touch with the real pastoral dangers for priests in their daily ministry. In the present climate it is foolish and presumptuous for a priest to habitually use a confessional room! It is a problem waiting to happen. No one seems to really care about our priests in this regard. Something needs to be done to safeguard priests against unchastity in that setting and against any possible accusations.

The bishops (or perhaps the pope) need to outlaw confessional rooms and insist on traditional confessionals in every parish as the habitual place for hearing confessions and spiritual direction of women and children.

Click here for a suggested survey to clean up the world's sexual perversion.

De Lectione Sanctarum Scripturarum

1. Truth is to be sought for in Holy Scripture, not eloquence.
All Holy Scripture ought to be read with that spirit with which it was made.
We must rather seek for profit in the Scriptures than for subtlety of speech.
We ought as willingly to read devout and simple books, as those that are high and profound.
Let not the authority of the writer offend thee, whether he was of little or of great learning; but let the love of pure truth lead thee to read.
Inquire not who said this; but attend to what is said.

2. Men pass away; "but the truth of the Lord remaineth forever." (Ps. 116:2)
God speaks many ways to us, without respect of persons.
Our curiosity often hinders us in reading the Scriptures, when we attempt to understand and discuss that which should be simply passed over.
If thou wilt receive profit, read with humility, simplicity and faith; and seek not at any time the fame of being learned.
Willingly inquire after, and hear with silence the words of the saints; and be pleased with the parables of the ancients, for they are not spoken without cause. (Ecclus. 32:9)

Of Reading the Holy Scriptures (From the Imitation of Christ, Thomas A Kempis Book I, Chapter 5)

The Professor Pope

"[A] peculiar feature of a German cultural history is thoughtfulness...I think that God, if he was going to make a professor Pope in the first place, wanted this element of thoughtfulness and precisely the struggle for the unity of faith and reason to come to the fore."

That was Pope Benedict's answer in Light of the World (p. 78) to Mr. Seewald's question regarding a special charism a German Pope might bring to the Papacy.

This Holy Father's particular charism is his primary concern that the modern mind (including that of the theologian) should seek and find God and that men of faith should also embrace, promote and employ the greatest intellectual rigor in their service of God and man. Faith in God is and must be both relevant and reasonable especially today. Human reason rejecting God is not truly human nor is it reasonable! Our beloved German Scholar Pope highlights these truths. By his life and teaching he shows the true dignity of scholarship and, above all, of true religion.

Pope Benedict's Books

In Light of the World Pope Benedict explains his legitimate attachment to his personal library. Every intellectual knows and loves and, as far as possible, keeps, his books!

"[I moved into the papal appartamento with] my study at least. It was important for me to have my study the way it has developed over the course of many decades. In 1954 I bought my desk and the first bookshelves. Gradually there were additions. In them are all my advisors, the books; I know every nook and cranny, and everything has its history. Therefore I brought the whole study along with me. (15) ...The beauty of the faith shines forth as I read the Church Fathers." (16)

Condoms are for Dogs

In the wake of the new international media distortion campaign against His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI's clear and consistent condemnation of contraception it is necessary to clarify that his reference to a possible amoral use of condoms referred to a male prostitute in sodomastic activity in which case the condom would have absolutely no contraceptive role: an inherently impotent and sterile act.

In other words, condoms might be OK for dogs! In that vein here are three pro-marital act slogans.

CONDOMS ARE FOR DOGS

"THE PILL" (POISON) IS FOR FOOLS

STERILIZATION IS CRIMINAL MALPRACTICE

The only loving sexual activity is heterosexual and faithfully monogamous and holy, always open to procreation; otherwise it is merely selfish lust in disguise, not fully human: the stuff of dogs! Cf. Deus Caritas Est, 6 ff.


Incidently, this was the media's dirty way to announce the publishing of the Holy Father's new Interview Book which he produced this Summer with the excellent journalist Mr. Peter Seewald his biographer.


You will find an exhaustive and updated response to all the excitement at Young Jesuits. That article is very much worth reading. It is well balanced and very sympathetic of everyone involved, beginning with the secular journalists.

Hebrew Catholics in the Holy Land

In light of my last article I should like to highlight the presence of Catholics in the Holy Land, especially of the small but very significant Vicariate of Hebrew Catholics under the care of the Patriarchal Vicar Father David Neuhaus, a Hebrew Catholic himself. I have added their website to my great links.

In light of the recent Synod on the Middle East, here is an article on the various communities of Catholics in the Holy Land with special emphasis on the Hebrew Vicariate.

Promised Land not Exclusively for the Jews

Archbishop clarifies synod remarks condemned by Jewish organizations
November 12, 2010
Archbishop Cyrille Salim Bustros, the Melkite Greek Catholic bishop of Newton (Massachusetts), has clarified remarks made during an October 23 press conference presenting the final message of the Synod of Bishops for the Middle East.

Archbishop Bustros was quoted as saying, “The Holy Scriptures cannot be used to justify the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of the Palestinians, to justify the occupation by Israel of Palestinian lands,” adding, “we Christians cannot speak of the 'promised land' as an exclusive right for a privileged Jewish people. This promise was nullified by Christ. There is no longer a chosen people-- all men and women of all countries have become the chosen people.” The archbishop’s remarks were condemned by Jewish organizations.

Archbishop Bustros told Jihad Watch:


During the press conference which was held at the end of the Synod, I presented this message in my role as president of the commission that drafted the message. I was then asked by a journalist: "What do you mean by this sentence: 'Recourse to theological and biblical positions which use the Word of God to wrongly justify injustices is not acceptable'?" I answered: "Israel cannot use the Biblical concept of a promised land to justify its occupation of Palestinian territory and the expulsion of Palestinians who have been living there for centuries. We Christians cannot now speak about the Promised Land for the Jewish people. With Christ the Promised Land became the Kingdom of God": Jesus referred to this land in His sermon on the mount and gave it a spiritual interpretation: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God... Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land." (Mt. 5:3.5)

In my answer I was thinking in particular of Jewish settlers who claim their right to build on Palestinian territory by saying it forms part of biblical Israel, the land promised by God to the Jews according to the Old Testament. I also warned against the risk of Israel becoming an exclusively Jewish state, with a consequent threat to the 1.2 million Muslim and Christian Arabs living in Israel. The Synod is acknowledging the separation between religion and politics, in stating that recourse to the Bible cannot be used to justify political events: "Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." (Mt. 22:21)

As a Christian, and especially as a Middle-Eastern Christian-- and this is the unanimous opinion of the Middle-Eastern Christians, Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants-- I see that the concept of the Promised Land cannot be used for the justification of the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of Palestinians. The creation of the State of Israel in 1948-- after the resolution of the UN in 1947 regarding the partition of Palestine which was under the British mandate between Arab and Jews-- is a political issue not a religious one. It is a fact of history like other facts: Jews who were persecuted in Europe and suffered the horrors of the Shoah decided to come to Palestine and build a country for their own. They chose Palestine because of the memory of the Jews who lived there 2000 years ago. They came in great numbers; a war arose between them and the Arabs living there, and they won the war; hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to leave their homes and flee to the surrounding Arabic countries: Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. Some of the Israelis based their return on the Old Testament theme of the Promised Land. But this does not mean that God is behind their return and their victory against the Arabs …

As for the idea of the chosen people, it is clear, according to Christian theology and especially to St. Paul, that after Christ there is no longer one particular chosen people! With Christ and in Him all men and women of all countries are called to become children of God and unite in one body, the Body of Christ.

Now in the Israeli-Palestinian issue we are in presence of two opposed religious extremist ideologies: from one part extremist Jews who say that Palestine is the Promised Land given to them by God, and that they cannot give up any part of it to the Arabs; and from the other part extremist Muslims who say that Palestine is a Muslim land given to them by God during the Arabic conquests, and that they cannot give up a part of it to the Israelis. With these two opposed religious ideologies it is impossible to find a compromise in order to reach a lasting peace.

The message of the Synod for the Middle East takes a moderate position and clearly advocates, regarding the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the two-State-solution … Then the message explicitly condemns all kinds of violence and religious extremism … By dialogue only-- a dialogue which requires compromises from both sides, not by war, and especially not by a war based on religious assumptions-- can the Holy Land reach a just and lasting peace.

The Pilgrim Shell and Papal Coronation Campaign

Last Saturday The Holy Father made his Jacobean Year pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain to the shrine of Saint James Major, the Apostle. The scallop shell is the symbol of the "Camino" (Saint James Trail) and is also a symbol in Pope Benedict's coat of arms. During the in flight interview to Santiago Pope Benedict spoke of the shell's pilgrimage significance and Santiago's place in Christian pilgrimages.

Father Lombardi: Your Holiness, in the message for the recent congress on shrines that took place, in fact, at Santiago de Compostela, you said that you are living your pontificate with the sentiments of a pilgrim. On your coat of arms there is also the scallop shell of the pilgrim. Would you like to tell us something about your perspective on this pilgrimage, in your personal life too and in your spirituality, and about the thoughts you have as you travel as a pilgrim to Santiago?

Benedict XVI: Hello! I can say that being on a journey is already inscribed in my biography. But this is perhaps something external; nevertheless, it makes me think of the instability of this life, of being on a journey. Of pilgrimages one could say: God is everywhere, there is no need to go to another place, but it is also true that faith, according to its essence, is being a pilgrim.

The Letter to the Hebrews shows [this] in the figure of Abraham, who leaves his land and remains a pilgrim toward the future all of his life, and this Abrahamic movement remains in the act of faith, it is being a pilgrim above all interiorly, but it must also express itself exteriorly. Sometimes, leaving behind the everyday, the world of the useful, of practical goals, leaving it behind only to be truly on the path to transcendence, transcending oneself and the everyday and thus also finding a new freedom, a time of interior rethinking, of identifying oneself, to see the other, God, and in this way it is also always being on a pilgrimage: not only a leaving behind of self but also a traveling together. The pilgrimage reunites, we are going together to the other and thus we both rediscover each other.

Let me just say that the trips taken to Santiago de Compostela are an element in the spiritual formation of the European continent. Making a pilgrimage here constitutes, has constituted the common European identity, and today too this movement is being reborn, these dreams of being in spiritual and physical movement, of this person or that finding himself and thus to find silence, freedom, renewal, and to find God.


The second topic, also related to the papal coat of arms, check out the campaign to crown Pope Benedict XVI with the Papal Tiara, last used by Pope Paul VI. Here is the original campaign website.

Sanctorum Communionem and the Discarded "Communion Table"

Ratzinger points out that in the "communion of saints" sanctorum refers first of all to "the holy things", i.e. the sacraments--the principle means of holiness, especially the Holy Eucharist. Only secondarily does the ninth article of the creed (Credo in sanctam Ecclesiam catholicam, sanctorum communionem) refer to the people who are sanctified by the worship of the holy mysteries.

"The saying about the communion of saints refers first of all to the Eucharistic community which through the body of the Lord binds the Churches scattered all over the earth into one Church. Thus originally the word "sanctorum" ("of the holy ones') does not refer to persons but means the holy gifts, the holy thing, granted to the Church in her Eucharistic feast by God as the real bond of unity. Thus the Church is not defined as a matter of offices and organizations but on the basis of her worship of God..." (Introduction to Christianity, Herder and Herder, NY, 1970, p. 257-8) [viz., what He effects in Her: unity in His communion of charity]. The communion of saints comes from Holy Communion! at the communion Table! Which brings me to my point.

Misguided bishops, priests and liturgists threw out the so called "altar rail" which is really properly called "the communion rail." They changed the name of the communion rail (read "the communion table") and collapsed it into the altar, calling the altar the table. But it is important to emphasize that the rail is, properly speaking, "the table", the proper place for the laity to receive the sacred species; and that kneeling reverently at the rail is a normative place for communion (Institutio Generalis Missalis Romani, 160), and a much more proper manner than the rushed "fast food" and cumbersome communion line, not to mention the forbidden sitting or gathering around the altar and receiving together with the priest.

Notice the traditional German name for the communion rail: Der Kommuniones Tisch, and the Spanish: el comulgatorio (the communion place!). Isn't it ironic that in their quest for the communion table they threw it out! Bring back our communion rails to increase the dignity of our sanctorum communionem.

There is one more point to be made in this reflection for All Saints, and that is that that most confusing instruction of the NCCB mandating standing for communion as being normative for USA (if it ever had any force in its inherent ambiguity and contradictions) is certainly nullified by Pope Benedict's Motu Proprio permitting and encouraging the 1962 form of the Mass. If the people can kneel to receive in our parishes for one form of the Mass they can certainly do so for the other. It is, after all, the same eternal Lord we worship and receive in either form of the Mass, is it not! Should we not receive Him with the same majesty in both forms!

All you holy Saints of God, pray for the increased dignity of our Holy Communions to effect the Church's unambiguous Holy Communion with Our Blessed Lord in every way and in everything.

Justification by Penitence

Here is the closing sentence of my homily for today on Luke 18:9-14: the pharisee and the publican.

May the Most Holy Virgin, Help of Christians, in this month of the Holy Rosary, obtain for us the humility and supernatural vision to truly know ourselves and to live a truly penitent life and to transform ourselves in the face of God in Christ Jesus in the Church.

Thirteenth Century Women Mystics

In his past three Wednesday Audiences the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI has given a short biography and sampling of the thought of three prominent feminine medieval holy women who reached the highest degrees of holy love: Blessed Angela of Foligno, Saint Gertrude the Great, and Saint Matilde.

Santiago de Compostela

In the sacristy of the greatest non-Marian piligrimage destination after Rome and Jerusalem this morning I noticed in the priest Mass register that America is way under represented here! Why is "New Spain" so ignorant of it´s original mother and of the Apostle of that same fatherland? Perhaps we are still very much under the cloud of the Black Legend which historically demonizes all things Spanish and glorifies all things English. It is interesting that I am here as the Holy Father flies over me to England right now!