US Defense Spending and Cultural Imperialism

Posted on May 5, 2012 by John Brian Schuettler

Whatever may be said about national defense against direct attack and the defense of American citizens against terrorist acts (two subjects which I will not address), I believe that American foreign policy tends to consistently violate both Catholic social teaching and prudence in three important ways:

Hedonistic Cultural Imperialism: The United States, along with the secular West in general, labors under a profound illusion that the proper—indeed the only—way to secure the common good is to eliminate the influence of tradition, religion and family so as to encourage a secular individualism which enables everybody to do exactly as he pleases. There are enormous flaws in our culture deriving from our blindness in these matters, all of which tend to break down many positive beliefs, habits and institutions which hold society together, foster strong intermediary organizations, strengthen the family, and promote virtue. Yet we export our own brand of individualistic hedonism everywhere we have cultural, economic or political influence. This is not only damaging; it also creates bitter enemies.
A World Safe for Democracy: The United States also believes that the only solution to the question of polity in any nation or region is the implementation of Western-style secular democracy as it has evolved in our own culture over the past thousand years. As a result, whenever we do enter a particular country militarily, we are reluctant to depart until we have remade that country in our own political and cultural image, short-circuiting modes of expression and organization common to the surrounding culture, and leaving people with a form of government they are unprepared to understand, let alone implement and sustain. Our idea of “stabilization”, therefore, necessarily involves massive transformations and long commitments to seeing that things are done our way—projects which extend far beyond whatever threat induced us to take military action in the first place.
Enforcing Our Own Self-Interest: While the United States seeks to portray itself as altruistic in its foreign policy (and may at times actually be altruistic), the justifications we offer for particular policies and interventions abroad are generally selectively implemented. For example, we may claim to act to eliminate some tyranny, but in fact we generally do not attempt to eliminate all tyranny but select as our targets those countries where some particular self-interest is at stake. Not only do these special interests often give the lie to any motives which might justify an intervention, but the overall impact is to display a remarkable hubris—an assurance that we are always sacrificing ourselves for the good of the rest of the world—which most people in most places find laughable, even on the occasions when it is at least partially true.

These three problems contradict Catholic social teaching in that they misconstrue the nature and ultimate good of the human person, they fail to respect both deeply ingrained human customs and religion itself, and they make of American power an excuse to police the world in ways which demean the equal rights of other peoples. Moreover, sometimes these failures result in a tortured use of just war theory to justify foreign adventures of an extremely dubious and imprudent nature. Finally, our hubris in these matters often causes our nation to overreach what it is really capable of achieving—to overreach, indeed, what any nation is ever capable of achieving.

Please note this important point. We are not wonderfully sensible, noble and good abroad and just the opposite at home, nor vice versa. The same tendencies which result in ill-considered utopian schemes at home lead to ill-considered utopian schemes abroad. The result is that we frequently increase enmity abroad in the name of friendship and support, while overburdening ourselves at home by investing far too much in situations which seem, to a more prudent intelligence, to be beyond our legitimate scope. I am very sad to note, as a Catholic, that too many conservatives in the United States have never met a war they did not like. I often wonder what friends we might have abroad if our foreign policy could be altered to have just the opposite effects!

I have painted these matters with a broad brush. I do not mean to oversimplify any question that arises out of the complexities of peace and security, any more than I mean in my discussion of domestic policies to oversimplify any question that arises out of legitimate human need here at home. Each issue must be examined on its merits. But in the United States, the economics of our perpetual spending on defense makes its own significant contribution to draining us dry. And to a large extent, I think the same argument applies that I have made about domestic concerns. Just as I am convinced we have arrived at a point when it will be almost universally wiser to cut back government intrusion here at home, so too am I convinced that the same is true of our foreign policy.

The world is not our oyster. And even if it were, an overweening, secular, hedonist America would only lose the pearl.

US Defense Spending and Cultural Imperialism.

…And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4: 12

Posted on April 29, 2012 by John Brian Schuettler

El Greco‘s depiction of Pentecost, with tongues of fire and a dove representing the Holy Spirit’s descent.

4th SUNDAY OF EASTER

FIRST READING: Acts 4:8-12.

Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a cripple, by what means this man has been healed, be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

This excerpt from Acts is a sequence of what was described in last Sunday’s first reading. Peter had cured a cripple-from-birth. He told the people that it was not by his own power that he did this, but through the power of Jesus of Nazareth, whom the Jews had, in ignorance, crucified. But the God of the Jews had raised Jesus from the dead. While the ordinary Jews were very impressed, and many of them accepted the faith of the Apostles, the leaders, the priests and Pharisees of the Sanhedrin, were anything but pleased. They had Peter and John arrested and kept in prison overnight. Next day they were interrogated and Peter answered for them both.

filled…Spirit: This was as Christ had promised his Apostles while he was still with them: “they will hand you over to the Sanhedrin . . . do not worry . . . the Spirit of your Father will be speaking in you” (Mt. 10:17-20). Before the highest authorities and in the highest courtroom of the Jews in Jerusalem Peter, who only a short while before had locked himself, together with the other Apostles, in the upper room “for fear of the Jews,” now fearlessly proclaims his belief in the Risen Christ.

done…cripple: This was the miracle that started it all. The healed cripple is evidently produced in court—”this man is standing before you healed.”

name…crucified: It was through the power of Jesus that this miracle was worked—through the power of one whom this Sanhedrin had thought was silenced forever when they forced Pilate to crucify him. Peter courageously tells this to the archenemies of Christ and of his followers, and he wants all the Jews of Palestine to hear of it.

whom God raised: Their plan to put an end to Christ was in vain, for God had raised him from the dead.

stone…builders: Peter says that by rejecting Christ as the true Messiah they had fulfilled the messianic prophecy of Psalm 108, verse 22. This stone, rejected by the builders, the leaders of the Jews, has become the cornerstone which would unite firmly the two walls of the house, the Gentiles and the Jews.

salvation…else: There is only one Savior, one Messiah, sent by God.

no other name: “Name” stands for person, and also the name Jesus, or Joshua in Hebrew, means “God saves.” There is no salvation for those who will not accept and follow Jesus.

As clear and logical as was this discourse of Peter, and moved as he was by the Holy Spirit to deliver it, it fell on deaf ears as far as the vast majority in that Jewish high court was concerned. They had long since desired a political Messiah who would set up a worldwide kingdom for them. Not only did they want to be free from the hated Romans, but they were ambitious to govern all the Gentile nations. Their ambitions and desires were of this world—worldly. Christ’s talk of repentance, mortification, and preparation for the world to come found no responsive chord in their hearts. He was not the Messiah they wanted; hence he was an impostor, a perverter of the people, and so they called on the hated Romans to nail him to a cross.

Now his followers were claiming that God had proved that he was the Messiah and, what was more, that he was divine, by raising him from the dead. They were working miracles to back up this claim, and surely it is well known that God does not work miracles for impostors and sinners (see Jn. 9:31). The reasonable attitude for them to take, even at this late hour, would surely have been to check the evidence. But no, they had already made up their minds and would not change them. No evidence could shift the wall of personal pride which they themselves had built. “There is none so blind as he who will not see,” was surely verified in the case of the leaders of the Jews.

Let us leave their judgement to God and turn our scrutiny on ourselves and on our acceptance of Christ. Do we ever allow temporal interests and worldly ambitions to come between us and our Savior? Are all our dealings with our neighbor strictly according to the commandments of God? Do we ever succumb to the temptation to make an easy dollar to the detriment of our neighbor, forgetting our Christian obligations? If we are employers, do we pay our workers a just wage and respect their rights as fellow men? If we are workers, do we work honestly and fairly, giving a right return for the wages paid us? Do we accept all men as our brothers, as sons of God, who like ourselves are on the road to heaven, and are we always ready to give them a helping hand when and if they need it? Finally, are we, by our faithful observance of the Christian life, a lamp shining brightly, helping the many unfortunate ex-Christians who have left the path of Christ to return to their Savior and to the true road to heaven?

“There is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved.” We Christians are dedicated to the sacred name of Jesus Christ by baptism, but it is only those who live up to the obligations of their Christian baptism who are worthy to bear that name and to share in the eternal salvation which it guarantees.

SECOND READING: 1 John 3:1-2.

See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

St. John here sets out in a couple of sentences the basic effect of the incarnation. Already in this life men are made children of God. Because we are God’s children here below we shall see him as he is in the future life.love…given us: The infinite love of God is beyond the comprehension of our finite minds. Why should God love us since he does not need us? Our love has always something of the selfish in it; that is, even we find it difficult to recognize absolutely unselfish love.

called children of God: “Called,” because we are. God decided, before creating us, to share his own eternal home with us—to adopt us. To do this he decreed the Incarnation of his Son: “Yes, God loved the world (mankind) so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but have eternal life” (Jn. 3:16). By joining our human nature to his divine person Christ united us all in a special relationship to God the Father. We are the adopted children of God, as John emphatically says.

would…know us: Christians need not be surprised that the world, that is, the forces of evil in the world, does not recognize them nor show any inclination to imitate or respect them, for this world (of evil) treats God in the same manner.

God’s…now: Already on this earth we are numbered among God’s adopted children. This we realize only through faith. When this life is over we shall have a more direct and intimate knowledge of our good fortune.

when he appears: John is referring to this perfect stage of our sonship here. When the Parousia, or the second coming of Christ, takes place, we too shall be glorified like Christ. We shall be raised to a higher supernatural state.

we shall…he is: Referring to God the Father, John says that in our glorified state we shall see God “as he is.” St. Paul expresses the same truth thus: “For our knowledge (of God) now is imperfect . . . once perfection comes all imperfect things will disappear . . . Now we are seeing a dim reflection in a mirror (the bronze mirrors used in those days) but then we shall be seeing face to face. The knowledge that I have now is imperfect, but then I shall know as fully as I am known” (1 Cor. 13:12). After our resurrection we shall see God as he is, face to face.

During this holy season of Easter, while our thoughts center on the glorious Christ who rose from the dead and returned to heaven, our thoughts should follow him there, and dwell for a while on that happy place for which we were prepared by God and elevated by the Incarnation of his divine Son. St. John gives us a little glimpse of that future home of ours in today’s reading: we shall be glorified like the Risen Christ, he tells us, and we shall see God as he is, not through the veil of faith as we now see him, but in reality. In another book, “Revelation,” John gives us a further glimpse into the heaven which awaits us: “Behold the dwelling of God is with men. He will dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself will be with them” as a Father among his children, “he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying, nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away” (Rev. 21:3-4).

Heaven, therefore, as St. John describes it, is a state wherein every happiness a man can desire will be attainable, the vision of the infinitely perfect God is the guarantee of this, and every sadness and cause of sadness will be forever removed. In heaven man will have no sorrow, no pain, no regrets; instead he will have everything that is pleasing, beautiful, and good. We all have experienced some moments of happiness in our lives, moments when everything was going smoothly and happily for us, when we had no pain or sorrow or fear. We knew, however, that these were but fleeting moments, they could not, and they did not, last, for that is of the very nature of our temporary life on earth. In heaven, however, these happy moments will be turned into an eternal state, a state that will have no end.

It is hard for us, in fact it is impossible, to form any complete concept of the joys of heaven. All our ideas, all our images are derived from our earthly surroundings. St. Paul, who was given a vision of heaven, tells us that he could not describe to his converts in Corinth what he had seen, because human language had no words or images to describe it. “I knew a man in Christ,” he says, “who fourteen years ago, was caught up into paradise and heard things which must not and cannot be put into human language” (2 Cor. 12:2-3). That vision of St. Paul, that glimpse of what awaited him, made him willing to sacrifice everything on earth, even his very life, in order to reach the heaven God had prepared for him. “For Christ I have accepted the loss of everything and I look on everything as so much refuse if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him . . . I have not yet won but I am still running, trying to capture the prize for which Christ Jesus captured me” (Phil. 3:8-12).

Without having the privileges which St. John and St. Paul had we have a sufficient idea of heaven to make us all desire it. But, like these Apostles, and all the other millions of saintly men and women, we know that we must “work our passage” to reach that abode of God. We must stay on the path of the Christian commandments, ever ready to count as nothing any earthly thing that would lure us off their path. During our earthly life we must keep God and Christ daily before our eyes if we hope to live in perfect happiness with them in the hereafter.

GOSPEL: John 10:11-18.

Jesus said to his disciples: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me, as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life, that I may take it again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again; this charge I have received from my Father.”

The Jews were a pastoral people, and it was only natural that their literature, the Old Testament books, should have many references to pastoral life. Our Lord and his Apostles continued this tradition and used pastoral images familiar to the people to illustrate for their hearers the spiritual truths of Christianity. In today’s reading, St. John gives us Our Lord’s description of himself under the well-known image of the good shepherd who not only cares for his flock but is willing to die to protect the life of that flock.

I am…shepherd: He was the owner of the flock; they belonged to him, and he would prove himself a worthy leader and defender of his flock.

lay…life: In those days, wolves, lions and robbers often raided the sheepfolds. The true shepherd should and would defend them with his life. Jesus laid down his life for his flock.

hireling…flees: The hired hand who does not own the sheep will flee when danger threatens. He thinks only of his own safety; he leaves the helpless flock to its fate. It was in Jerusalem, the stronghold of the scribes and Pharisees, that Our Lord preached this sermon. His cure of the man born blind (mentioned in the previous chapter of John) had caused an uproar among the Pharisees. When they could not deny the miracle, they said that Jesus worked it by some demonic power. The blind man, now healed, answered this very tellingly: “We know that God does not hear sinners . . . if this man (Jesus) were not from God he could do nothing” (Jn. 9:31-33). The scribes and Pharisees were the legal shepherds of the Jews, but actually they were far more interested in their own gain and glory than in the spiritual welfare of their flock. The mass of the people were being attracted to Jesus; there was a danger that these leaders would lose their position and the substantial profit it entailed. Hence one of the reasons for their fierce opposition to Jesus. In this sermon, quoted by St. John, Jesus contrasts himself, the true, good shepherd, with these hirelings who were working only for personal gain.

I know my own: As the true shepherd knows every sheep in his flock, and every sheep knows him, Jesus knows each of his followers with a knowledge arising from love, and his followers likewise know him. Unless they do, they are not true followers.

Father…the Father: The mutual knowledge of the Father and Son is infinite, since each is a divine Person. The Christian’s knowledge of Christ can never be infinite, but it can and should be as great as possible. Based on true love, it will be as complete a knowledge as the finite mind is capable of reaching. On the other hand, Christ’s knowledge and love for his followers is infinite because of his divine nature.

I lay…sheep: He said the good shepherd would defend his flock with his life. Now to prove that he is such a shepherd, he states that he is about to do just that.

I have…sheep: Most of the Jews had the erroneous idea that they alone would be God’s flock always, that the messianic kingdom would be for them only. The universality of the promised messianic kingdom was frequently foretold in the Old Testament. Abraham was called to bring a blessing not only on his descendants but on all nations (Gen. 12:3). The Gentiles, therefore, were also to be part of the good shepherd’s flock.

will…voice: This prophecy of Christ began to be fulfilled within a short time after his resurrection. St. Peter received the first Gentile, Cornelius of Caesarea, into the Church within a year of the resurrection. Before the last of the Apostles died, the Church had been firmly established in the principal cities and towns of the Roman Empire.

one flock…shepherd: Allthe followers of Christ form one fold, one Christian Church. As St. Paul puts it to the Colossians: “here (that is, in the Christian Church) there is no Gentile and Jew, no circumcised and uncircumcised, no barbarian and Scythian, no slave and free man; but Christ is all things and in all” (Col. 3:11).

reason…loves me: The Father’s love is poured out upon the Son because, in obedient love, he lays down his life for mankind in fulfillment of the Father’s design.

I may…again: By his death he nailed our sins to the cross; by his resurrection he opened the door from death to heaven for us and proved that he was the Son of God and the Messiah.

no one…from me: He chose death freely, his enemies did not take his life from him (as they thought they were doing) against his will. This freedom is frequently emphasized by Jesus during his public life (17:4, 18:4, 19:30).

this…Father: His voluntary death followed by his glorification in his resurrection was the Father’s purpose in sending him on earth. He freely and willingly accomplished this mission.

The image of Christ as our Good Shepherd has always appealed to human nature. One of the earliest paintings of Christ in the Roman catacombs represents him as carrying an injured sheep on his shoulders. This is a manifestation of love which touches our innermost feelings. We do not mind being likened to sheep in this context. There is something innocent about a sheep, and at the same time a lot of foolishness. Does not this describe the vast majority of men, even many of those who openly oppose Christ? Is there not something very sheep-like about the man who, because God gave him a limited intellect, thinks he knows all things and needs no further help from God? The sheep who thinks it knows as much, and even more, than the shepherd and sets out to fend for itself is no more foolish than the man who thinks he can do without God’s revelation and God’s Church.

Indeed we all act like sheep on many occasions, when it comes to the things that concern our spiritual welfare. We often ramble off from the flock to nibble at little bits of forbidden pasture. However, we have a Shepherd who understands us, one whose patience and love are infinite. He is always ready to go after us when we stray too far; his voice is constantly reaching out to us—in missions, retreats, sicknesses, crosses, and other various ways. How many times have we already felt his loving grace calling and helping us back to the safety of his fold?

There are many who are not so fortunate as we, who either through no fault of their own or through their own fault do not hear his voice and do not know or follow him. This is an opportunity he gives us to show how we appreciate all he has done for us. He died on the cross for all men. He wills all men to profit by his death, and his statement “them also I must bring” is a direct appeal to us to cooperate with him in this work. Every Christian is a missionary. The very fact of living the Christian life in its entirety, in the midst of our fellow man, is of itself a powerful example to outsiders. It influences for good the lax Christian and the non-Christian. It makes them stop and think and look into their consciences. This is generally the first step on the road back to God.

The devout Christian will not stop at good example only. If he truly loves God, he must truly love his neighbor and must want him to have a share in his own good fortune. He knows there is welcome and room in heaven for all men, and he knows that the greater the number there the greater will be God’s eternal glory. He will strive then by every available means to help his neighbor into Christ’s fold.

After good example, prayer will be his most potent weapon. Day in and day out, the devout Christian must pray for the conversion of his fellow men who are wandering aimlessly in the barren desert of this life far from God. He must also learn all he can about the truths of his faith in order to be able to help honest enquirer’s. He must also cooperate with any parochial or diocesan societies for the propagation of the Faith, insofar as his family and financial state allow him.

The sermon preached by our Savior nearly two thousand years ago is still echoing and re-echoing around the world, calling on his faithful flock to do all in their power to help those other children of God who are still outside the fold. Do not shut your ears to this call of Christ today. Give him a helping hand by helping your fellow man to see the light of the true faith.-b182

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Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year B

Citazioni di
Ac 4,8-12: www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9ammlod.htm
1Io 3,1-2: www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9abrwoc.htm
Io 10,11-18: www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9arb00j.htm

Today we celebrate the fourth Sunday of Easter, commonly called Good Shepherd Sunday. The Risen Lord is presented in the liturgy as the Shepherd of our souls, who “lays down his life for his sheep” (John 10:11). As we look at Christ the Good Shepherd we are called to pray especially for those who Jesus has placed as shepherds in His Church and also for young people who are called to this mission.

The verb ‘to know’ appears repeatedly in today’s readings. When the Holy Scriptures talk about knowledge – especially knowledge between people – it means something much deeper than our how we use the verb in everyday language.

This biblical ‘knowledge’ isn’t limited to the external or superficial information that we can know about another person. Instead, it refers to an intimate communion and mutual possession that engages the whole of our intelligence, freedom and will.

In the Gospel reading the Lord says “I know my sheep and my sheep know me” (John 10:14), and in the second reading St John says “the world refused to acknowledge him,therefore it does not acknowledge us” (1 John 3:1).

These verses written by St John speak of two different types of knowledge. There is the knowledge that is given to us and there is a knowledge that is not possible, and therefore fruitless, to search for or to pursue directly.

Let’s firstly consider that knowledge of Christ that was given to us by grace as Christians. That knowledge of Christ which is an intimate communion and reciprocal possession of Him is a gift that was granted to us and that inspired St John the Apostle to exclaim: “think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children; and that is what we are” (1 John 3:1). Knowing Christ cannot be reduced to a simple acquaintance with what the four Gospels narrate about Him, or even with the truth that the Church teaches. Although these things are necessary and also urgent especially in our epoch that is so marked by religious illiteracy. (c.f Pope Benedict XVI Homily Chrism Mass 2012)

The knowledge that Christ gives us is an intimate communion with His own life. It is a communion which transforms us and lifts us up to the reality of being the children of God, through the work of the Holy Spirit who we receive at Baptism. We are truly “called God’s children and that is what we are”. This knowledge, moreover, engages the whole of our person – but it doesn’t depend on us. In fact, it comes as a gift which is rooted in the sovereign initiative of God that takes flesh in Jesus Christ. Jesus is the true Good Shepherd who gives His life for us, His sheep (cf. John 10:17-18).

Christ laid down his life for us, and he took it up again. What does this mean that He ‘takes up’ his life again? There is the obvious meaning: Jesus offered Himself up voluntarily to death on the cross for us, and then He rose from death to live forever. But we can also see a further meaning. By rising, Christ take up the life He gave for us on the cross, bringing us to heaven with Him, and inviting us into His relationship of love with the Father. We become sons just as Christ is the Son, and participants in the same love that Christ has for the Father and for humanity.

This has a special significance for those called to the priesthood. Those who receive the gift of a Vocation are taken up into the life of Christ and made a partaker in His own saving work. The priest becomes a sharer in Christ’s love and mercy who is able to make present in his own person Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

As to that other knowledge, that of the world, St John tells us that it isn’t for us because the world “does not acknowledge us”. Those who have met Christ and possess knowledge of Him should know that this treasure is fundamentally incompatible with the acknowledgement of the world. The Lord himself taught us that we cannot serve two masters (cf. Luke 16:13). The only way to ensure that the world can acknowledge us is for us to attract it once more to the knowledge of Christ so opening itself to God.

Let us ask the Blessed Virgin Mary, Gate of Heaven and Queen of Apostles, that, like her, we will fully open ourselves to the true knowledge of Christ – the Shepherd who leads us to the pastures of heaven. Amen.

Third Sunday of Easter-God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, protect your beloved people Israel from all hurt, in your love

Posted on April 22, 2012 by John Brian Schuettler

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Abraham and the Three Angels (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot

God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, protect your beloved people Israel from all hurt, in your love. As the beloved holy Sabbath goes away, that the week, and the month, and the year, should come to us with perfect faith, with faith in the sages, with love and attachment to good friends, to attachment to the blessed Creator, with belief in your thirteen principles of faith, and in the ultimate redemption, may it be soon, and the Resurrection of the dead, and in the prophecy of Moses, our teacher, may he rest in peace.

Lord of the world! You are the one who gives strength to the weak! Give your beloved Israelites more health and strength so we can love you and serve you, only you, and no other, Heaven forfend. And the week, and the month, and the year, should come to us with mercy, and health, and auspiciousness, and blessing, and success, and riches and glory, and to children, and long life, and abundant food, and Divine providence, for us and all Israel, and let us say, Amen.

Transliteration of the most common version:

Got fin avrum in fin yitskhok in fin yankev, bahit dayn libe folk yisruel fin ale bayzn in daynem loyb az di libe shabes koydesh gayt avek. az di vokh in di khoydesh, in di yor zol inz tsi kimen tsi emine shlayme, tsi emines khakhomim, tsi ahaves khavayrim. tsi dvaykes haboyre burikh hi, ma’amin tsi zayn bishloys esre ikrim shelokh ivigilo shlayme vekroyve bimhayre veyumayni. Iviskhiyas hamaysim. Ivinvies moyshe rabayni olov hashulem.

Riboyne shel oylem! di bist dokh dem noysayn layo’eyf koyekh. Gib dayne libe yidishe kinderlakh oykh koyekh dikh tsi loybn. In nor dikh tsi dinen in kayn andern kholile nisht. In az di vokh in der khoydesh in der yor zol inz kimen tsi gezint in tsi mazl in tsi brukhe vehatslukhe. In tsi kheysed in tsi bonay khayhe arikhay imzoyne revikhay vesiyato dishmayo luni ilkhol yisroayl vene’emar, Umayn.

Third Sunday of Easter, Year B

Citations of
Ac 3,13-15.17-19: www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9asubuc.htm
1Io 2,1-5a: www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9abspcb.htm
Lc 24,35-48: www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9bxwpfx.htm

The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.

FIRST READING: Acts 3:13-15, 17-19.

Peter said to the people: “The God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered up and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him. But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses.

“And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. But what God foretold by the mouth of all the prophets, that his Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled. Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out.”

Peter and John, on their way to the temple, met a man crippled from birth. He asked them for alms. Peter said he had neither gold nor silver, but he would give him something better. He told the man, “in the name of Jesus of Nazareth,” to “stand up and walk.” The man stood up and followed Peter and John into the temple, “walking and jumping and praising God” (3:8). The people recognized the man as the cripple who used to be at the gate each day begging for alms. The crowd, full of curiosity and excitement, gathered around the Apostles and the man who had been cured. Peter spoke to the crowd and told them that it was not through their own power or holiness that they had cured this man, but through the power of Jesus.

God…our fathers: Peter emphasizes that he also is a son of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and that their God was also his God.

his…Jesus: Second-Isaiah had described the future Messiah as the Suffering Servant (Is. 52:13-53:12), who would be obedient to his Father unto death. The Apostles and the Christians saw in Jesus this suffering servant (see Acts 8:32ff). Peter tells the crowd that God had glorified this servant Jesus in his resurrection.

delivered…Pilate: Peter now reminds them that a short time previously they had handed over this Jesus to the Roman governor to be crucified and had denied that he was their king or Messiah. They had forced Pilate to condemn him even though Pilate “could find no guilt in him.”

Holy…One: The Suffering Servant of Isaiah was holy, righteous, and innocent of any crime. Like an innocent lamb he was led to the slaughter. This was Jesus whom they, the Jews, had been forcing Pilate to condemn and crucify.

murderer…life: This refers to their choice of Barabbas, whom Pilate thought could save Jesus (Mt. 27:20). Barabbas had committed murder and was awaiting trial. Jesus was about to give the true and everlasting life to all men.

whom God raised: God was able to undo all their wickedness. He raised Jesus from the dead. Peter and all the Apostles and disciples were witnesses of the Resurrection. They had seen and spoken with him, and eaten with him after his resurrection.

acted in ignorance: His Master, when nailed to the cross, had begged his Father to forgive them “for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk. 23:34). Following that example Peter says that the mob that howled for the death of Jesus, as well as the leaders who incited it, acted in ignorance. They did not know that Christ was God, nor did they believe him to be the promised Messiah. They had a built-in prejudice against his claims and were unable rightly to judge.

God foretold: The Jews were acting as God’s agents in carrying out what he had foretold concerning Jesus.

repent…blotted out: The Jews must return to God; they had drifted away from him through their pride and prejudices. If they but return to God, abandoning their prejudices and pride, Peter now tells them that they will obtain forgiveness for all of their sins.

In the early days of the Church in Jerusalem the Resurrection was the topic of conversation among the friends and enemies of Jesus. The latter did their best to deny the fact, but in vain; the followers of Jesus kept claiming that it was a fact, and worked miracles in proof of that claim. In today’s reading the cure of the cripple-from-birth is one such miracle. Peter worked this miracle “in the name (that is, the person and power) of Jesus of Nazareth (3:6), whom the God of the Jews had glorified and had raised from the dead.” If Christ had been an impostor, as the Pharisees and scribes had stated (Mt. 27:63), God would not have raised him from the dead and glorified him. Before a large gathering in the temple precincts in Jerusalem, Peter makes this claim only a few weeks after Christ’s death on the cross. The people were impressed. In spite of the opposition of their leaders the number of Jews who became followers of Christ increased daily, “the total number of whom had now risen to something like five thousand” (see 4:4, the same day this miracle took place). This was a large percentage of the inhabitants of Jerusalem at that time.

No true Christian can have the slightest doubt about the fact of the resurrection of Jesus. The growth of the infant Church in Jerusalem and in Gentile lands is sufficient proof of it. Men and women do not attach themselves to one who has failed, nor do they take on a new and demanding form of life without sufficient conviction. Yet, there are men and women who, like the leaders of the Jews, still refuse to open their eyes to the light and who shut their minds against the most convincing evidence. Such people need help. One of the best ways of showing how grateful we are for the true faith is a willingness and eagerness to spread that faith to our fellow man. Christ became man for them too, he died on the cross for their sakes, and God the Father raised him from the dead so that they too may rise in glory one day. As true Christians, and true lovers of Christ, it is our duty to give a helping hand to those brothers of ours who are sorely in need of help.

However, you may say: “What can we do; we are not missionaries nor preachers? We are not theologically equipped to enter into dialog and convince unbelievers.” The fact is that without becoming missionaries, preachers or theologians, every Christian can act as a missionary, or preacher, or theologian without leaving his home and employment and without opening a book. The Christian who prays often and fervently for his fellow man and who lives his Christian life to the full is a preacher and a missionary wherever he lives and works. In his daily actions he is showing forth Christ. His abounding faith and charity, his unshakable hope in the eternal future which awaits him, will do more to enlighten the mind and will of unbelievers than all the skill of preachers and all the theology of great writers.

Are we not grateful to God and Christ? We are convinced that heaven is the pearl of great price compared with which everything this world has to offer is but as a grain of sand to the desert. We know that God wants all his adopted children in heaven. For that purpose we know that Christ humbled himself even to the death of the cross. We know also that Christ is counting on us to help him to bring them to heaven. Would we refuse him this return for all he has done for us? Would we be true Christians who love God above all things if we did not love our neighbor as ourselves? We want heaven for ourselves; we must want it for them too. Through the grace and mercy of God our prayers and the good example of our Christian lives will be the means of converting many sinners and unbelievers to Christ. He in turn will reward them and us with eternal life.

SECOND READING: 1 John 2:1-5.

My little children, I am writing this to you so that you may not sin; but if any one does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the expiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. And by this we may be sure that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He who says “I know him,” but disobeys his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps his word, in him truly love for God is perfected. By this we may be sure that we are in him.

About this First Epistle of St. John, see the second reading of last Sunday. In today’s extract from this letter, the Apostle is urging his fellow Christians to avoid sin. If they should sin, they are to admit their fault and seek pardon, which will be given in abundance. He has in mind, evidently, the Gnostic heretics of the time who, among other things, did not keep God’s commandments and yet held that they were not sinning by violating them. John exhorts his Christians not to imitate these heretics.

My little children: St. John uses this affectionate term seven times in his first epistle, and six times the term “dearly-beloved,” as a proof of his real affection for all the followers of Christ.

you…sin: In the preceding verses the Apostle says that we are all inclined to sin and are at times guilty of sin. This is a defect of our human nature. The Jerusalem Bible translation is: “to stop you sinning” and may better translate the Greek and fit in with the context.

advocate…Father: We have an advocate in heaven who has pleaded and is always pleading for us, Jesus Christ, the just one. The Father will hear him.

expiation…sins: By his death on the cross Christ has already made atonement, “expiation,” for all our sins and “for the sins of the whole world.” Those only who by repentance ask to participate can receive expiation.

know…commandments: Although they claimed that they had special knowledge of him the Gnostics did not know him, because they did not keep his commandments. True knowledge brings love and obedience with it. Sincere Christians keep God’s commandments. They know God, all he is and all he means to them.

disobeys…liar: He who violates God’s commandments is saying by his actions that he does not know God as a Father who loves him and deserves every reverence man can give.

who…his word: The faithful service of God—the keeping of his laws—will bring each faithful servant of God to the perfection of love which is the essence of true sanctity. The cause of perfect sanctity must be the true love of God, not the false love of God (shown by ignoring and violating his commandments) preached by the Gnostics.

It is a consolation for us to hear the saintly St. John, the beloved disciple, declare that any one of us, even the best of us, can sin. He loved God and fully realized what lengths God has gone to in order to share heaven with us. The very thought of offending God must have been something abhorrent, something detestable. Yet he knew that all Christians had not received as many graces as he had, and he, therefore, understood that their love could grow cold at times and that they could occasionally offend God. Coming from so great a saint as the beloved disciple, this understanding is consoling. He is but reflecting the mind of Christ, his Master, whom he loved so much. John had lived with Jesus for about three years. He saw how kindly he treated sinners.

The Mary Magdalenes of Galilee, the adultress of Jerusalem, the tax collectors all over Palestine, were all treated with kindness and understanding. If they but asked for forgiveness, even if only indirectly, they were forgiven their sins. In the apostolic circle too, Jesus had been merciful and patient with his worldly-minded disciples. Many months after they had joined him, John himself and his brother James were angling for positions of power (and maybe wealth) in the earthly messianic kingdom which they thought he would set up (Mt. 20:20). All the Apostles deserted Jesus when he was arrested in Gethsemane. That night Peter denied that he ever knew him. However, when they later realized their faults and repented they were freely forgiven. Even Judas would have been forgiven his act of betrayal had he but repented.

We sinners—and we are all sinners in many ways—are dealing with a forgiving God. What is more, we have the forgiving Christ as our Advocate in heaven. Through his passion and cross he has already earned for us the right of forgiveness. On our part all that is needed is the humility to admit that we are sinners and the resolve to turn away from our sins. God and Christ will do the rest. Our Lord has left to his Church his sacrament of mercy. From a delegate empowered by Christ to do so, we can not only receive forgiveness for our sins but a declaration that they are forgiven us. This mercy of God and his divine Son should arouse in us a desire and urge to try to return a little bit of love for all that had been and is being done for our salvation. “Whoever keeps his word,” St. John says, “in him truly the love of God is perfected.” If we strive to keep the laws of God, if we try to live the Christian life, we will have the true love of God in us, we will be moving towards the state of perfection which will be ours in heaven.

Should some overpowering temptation or some unexpected assault of the enemy make us lapse momentarily, we have the guarantee that God will accept us back, if we but avail ourselves of the means his mercy has placed so easily within our reach—sincere repentance and, where possible and as soon as possible, the placing of our sins at the feet of his representative in the Sacrament of Penance.

What earthly mother was ever so kind, so patient, so tolerant toward the children of her womb as our God in heaven is tolerant, patient, kind and merciful toward us his weak mortal children?

GOSPEL: Luke 24:35-48.

The disciples told what had happened on the road, and how Jesus was known to them in the breaking of the bread.

As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit. And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts? See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself, handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have.” And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” They gave him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate before them.

Then he said to them, “These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses, and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

This is the continuation of the appearance of the Risen Lord to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. When these two disciples eventually recognized that the “stranger” who had explained the messianic prophecies to them on the way to Emmaus was none other than Christ, they hurried back to Jerusalem to inform the Apostles. They discovered that the Apostles were now convinced of the Resurrection, for Simon had seen him. While they were discussing these things Christ appeared in the midst of them.

Peace…you: This is the usual Hebrew salutation. Coming from Christ it was more than a pious wish.

saw a spirit: Even though they had believed Simon and the two disciples they still were startled to see him there in their midst especially as St. John adds that he came through the closed door (Jn. 20:19). Was he a ghost, then, or was he real? They had seen Lazarus raised from the dead, but it was the self-same Lazarus back on earth to continue life where he had left off. The resurrection of Jesus was different. He had risen to a new life, a life of glory which would last forever. A glorified body is not visible to human eyes, but Jesus took on a human form which could be seen. In this appearance the form was the same as the body that was crucified; on other occasions it was a different form, as was the case on the road to Emmaus (Lk. 24:13-35), and at Tiberias (Jn. 21:1-12).

questionings arise: The Apostles did not believe Our Lord’s prophecies regarding his resurrection; they did not believe he could die, so how could he rise again? Now, presented with the fulfillment, they were still slow to admit the fact.

hands…bones: He now asks them to see for themselves that it is Jesus who is there. They can see the marks of the nails on his hands and feet. He is not a mere spirit; a spirit has not flesh and bones as he had.

disbelieved for joy: It was too good to be true; they could not believe their eyes.

anything to eat: A risen, glorified body does not need food, but to convince his Apostles, Jesus appeared in a body similar to that which was crucified and ate some food to prove that he was really alive again—in a new mode of life, yes, but really alive.

Thus…written: Jesus goes on to remind them of the prophecies of his resurrection which he had given them so often. He spoke also of the necessity of his death and resurrection. This was the plan of God as foretold in “the Law, the prophets and the writings” (Psalms), which was the usual Jewish description of the Old Testament.

forgiveness of sin: Beginning in Jerusalem the Apostles were to preach repentance to the world. Christ by his Incarnation, death and resurrection had obtained eternal life (salvation) for all men; this Christian gospel must be preached to all nations. For this he had chosen his Apostles; they had been witnesses of his public life, his teachings, his death and resurrection.

Our Lord’s glorious resurrection is the crowning miracle of his sojourn on earth among men. It is the foundation and cornerstone of our Christian religion. His death on Calvary proved that he was really human; his resurrection proved he was also divine. During his public life he had claimed to be God. Had that claim been untrue, God the Father could not have raised him from the dead. By his death he made atonement for the sins of the world—”he nailed them to the tree of the cross;” by his resurrection he opened the gates of death for all men and made them heirs to the eternal life.

We need hardly delay to prove the fact of the resurrection of Christ, for without it there would have been no Christianity, no Christian Church. In the story of the appearance which precedes today’s Gospel, we are told how two of Christ’s disciples were so depressed and disorientated by his death that they were giving up all interest in the dead Master and were returning home at the first opportunity (the Sabbath, Saturday, had intervened and they could not travel on that day). The Apostles were no better since Good Friday. They had remained behind locked doors for fear of the Jews. They had no hope left. They too would have left Jerusalem that Sunday were it not for the story brought by Mary Magdalene that Christ’s body had been taken from the tomb. When the Risen Christ appeared to the ten Apostles (Thomas was absent) they thought he was a ghost, so far were their thoughts from a possible resurrection.

When the truth sank into their minds, however, they became changed men. After Pentecost day they fearlessly proclaimed to the Jews, of whom they had been frightened, that Christ whom those same Jews had crucified had risen and was now glorified by the Father. Thousands of Jews in Jerusalem had come to believe in Christ, because they were convinced he had risen and was the Messiah and the Son of God, as he claimed to be. The four Evangelists testify to the truth of the Resurrection and we have the exceptional witness of St. Paul whose radical change of life can have only one explanation—he saw the Risen Christ on the road to Damascus.

Of the fact of the Resurrection we can have no doubts; Christianity is inexplicable without it, and Christianity has existed for more than two thousand years. A more important point for consideration today is what this resurrection means to us. “If Christ has not risen,” says St. Paul (1 Cor. 15:17), “vain is your faith, for you are still in your sins.” But “Christ has risen from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep.” Our faith then is not in vain, for the founder and foundation of our faith is the Word of God who cannot deceive or be deceived, and his resurrection is the guarantee of our resurrection. He is the “first fruits,” the earnest of the full harvest that was to follow after our earthly death. We shall all rise again in glory if we have been faithful during our time on earth, in a less pleasant state if we have not followed Christ here below.

Human life has always been the great enigma for philosophers down through the ages. The resurrection of Christ, which causes and guarantees our resurrection, is the one and only explanation of that enigma. If death were the end of man, with all his gifts of intellect and will, if the grave were to enclose forever this noble being whom God has raised above all other earthly creatures and has endowed with super-mundane gifts and aspirations, then indeed man’s sojourn on earth would be an inexplicable enigma. But the gifts God gave to man were not simply to help him to make a precarious living and enjoy a fleeting happiness, interspersed with much sadness, for sixty, seventy, or even a hundred years. No, they were intended to last for eternity and to reach their real fruition in eternity.

With St. Paul then, we may well sing out today: “O death where is thy victory, O death where is thy sting? … thanks be to God who has given us the victory through Our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:55-57). Yes, Eastertime is a time of rejoicing for every true Christian. It is a time for Alleluias, for praising and thanking God. Our happy future is within our reach. Our eternal happiness has been won for us by Christ and is within our grasp, if only we hold fast to the true faith of Christ, taking the rough with the smooth, going through our lesser Gethsemanes and Calvaries as Christ went through his great ones. If we do this we can hopefully await the angel who will roll back the stone from our grave one day and allow us to enter into the glory of the eternal Easter in heaven.

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On this third Sunday of Eastertide, the Church welcomes us into the Cenacle so that we can experience the visit of the Risen Lord, along with the Apostles. This is a most special and unexpected visit, which reveals a ray of the Divine Mystery and calls us with renewed force to conversion.

This visit reveals to us some of the characteristics of the new Presence of the Risen Lord. We can enumerate three: its realism, its abundance and the divine patience.

Firstly, the presence of the risen Christ is shown to be absolutely ‘real’. In the face of the Apostles’ disbelief, Jesus makes two simple gestures. He shows them His hands and His feet and He invites them to touch them. How simple and yet how marvelous! We see how the Christian is given the gift of immediacy with the divine. God stands before us and invites us to touch Him. God does not set conditions for us; He does not call for a special ‘work’ or a special ‘space’ in order for us to meet Him. Rather God crosses for us the road that separates us from Him. God himself is the ‘sacred space’ where we can meet Him. “Look at my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me and see, because a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you can see I have.” (Luke 24:39). Then because, as the evangelist tells us, “they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed” (Luke 24:41), Jesus makes a second gesture which is even more disarming and unequivocal than the first – He shares some fish with them and He eats it before them.

Therefore, the presence of Christ is something real. He is truly present, not only spiritually but corporeally too. Just as we are real, with real bodies that take up real space, so Jesus is real and physical too.

But of course, Jesus is real and physical in a new way – an abundant way. This abundance is the second characteristic of his risen presence. He is present in His real body – the crucified body that we adored on Good Friday, but at the same time the body that has been transformed. We say that his body is ‘glorified’; it is totally interpenetrated with the eternity of God, so that He can enter the upper room behind closed doors. He can eat like any other man yet He can appear suddenly and He can be touched. He can speak to those disciples with whom He shared His life two thousand years ago, and yet He is our contemporary and He invites us to share in His life too.

The presence of Christ is therefore both real and abundant, so that, while he stands before us, He also invites us to open ourselves up. We are called to abandon all that limits us and be opened to the greatness and goodness of His Life and Will.

Faced with this abundance of Jesus, we can clearly see how foolish the temptation to philosophical rationalism is for us in the same way as it was also foolish for the disciples. This doctrine, which is increasingly widespread, especially in the West, ascribes the divine ‘omnipotence’ to human rationality. It claims that humans are able to not only question and understand the meaning of reality, but even that we can make ourselves the measure of all things. In fact, the presence of the Risen Jesus shows up our inadequacy and inconsistency. God exists, He is close to us, and He is present in a way that is unpredictable and almost unimaginable for us. This means we don’t have to give up in our weakness: instead we can convert to God’s way of loving.

Finally, the Risen Christ shows the Apostles a ‘patience’ which is moving. So often when faced with unrequited love, we withdraw from relationships with those around us. Jesus, however, loves us insistently, waiting with patience for us to surrender to the splendour of his face.

Let us pray that Our Lady will obtain for us the gift of this ‘surrender’ of heart. Most Blessed Mary, who gave us Jesus, the true measure of the universe, and who is now assumed into heaven where you partake in the glory of the resurrection, direct
us to your Son and generate true life for us. Amen.

Federal Budget Choices Must Protect Poor, Vulnerable People, Says U.S. Bishops’ Conference

Posted on April 21, 2012 by John Brian Schuettler

Recent letters echo bishops’ consistent message that federal budget must form

‘circle of protection’ around ‘the least of these’

WASHINGTON—As Congress began working on the FY 2013 budget and spending bills this week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) wrote several letters that repeated and reinforced the bishops’ ongoing call to create a “circle of protection” around poor and vulnerable people and programs that meet their basic needs and protect their lives and dignity. The bishops’ message calls on Congress and the Administration to protect essential help for poor families and vulnerable children and to put the poor first in budget priorities. The bishops’ letters oppose measures that reduce resources for essential safety net programs.

In the letters, Bishops Stephen E. Blaire of Stockton, California, and Richard E. Pates of Des Moines, Iowa, chairmen of the Committees on Domestic Justice and Human Development and International Justice and Peace, respectively, urged Congress to resist proposed cuts in hunger and nutrition programs at home and abroad saying that “a just spending bill cannot rely on disproportionate cuts in essential services to poor and vulnerable persons.”

On April 4, Bishop Blaire cautioned that “at a time when the need for assistance from [affordable housing] programs is growing, cutting funds for them could cause thousands of individuals and families to lose their housing and worsen the hardship of thousands more in need of affordable housing.” He also reminded Congress that the Catholic community is one of the largest private, nonprofit providers of affordable housing in the country and is deeply involved in meeting the health housing and nutrition needs of families across the nation.

Bishops Blaire and Pates reaffirmed the “moral criteria to guide these difficult budget decisions” outlined in their March 6 budget letter:

1.Every budget decision should be assessed by whether it protects or threatens human life and dignity.

2.A central moral measure of any budget proposal is how it affects “the least of these” (Matthew 25). The needs of those who are hungry and homeless, without work or in poverty should come first.

3.Government and other institutions have a shared responsibility to promote the common good of all, especially ordinary workers and families who struggle to live in dignity in difficult economic times…

Just solutions, however, must require shared sacrifice by all, including raising adequate revenues, eliminating unnecessary military and other spending, and fairly addressing the long-term costs of health insurance and retirement programs.

In April 16 and April 17 letters to the House Agriculture Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee addressing cuts required by the budget resolution, Bishop Blaire said “The House-passed budget resolution fails to meet these moral criteria.” Bishop Blaire also wrote that cuts to nutrition programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP- food stamps) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) will hurt hungry children, poor families, low-income workers and other vulnerable people. Additionally, he wrote that if cuts to the federal budget need to be made, savings should first be found in programs that target more affluent and powerful interests.

Federal Budget Choices Must Protect Poor, Vulnerable People, Says U.S. Bishops’ Conference (USCCB)

THE CROSS OF SOLIDARITY: WE ARE BROTHERS IN CHRIST

Posted on April 7, 2012 by John Brian Schuettler

Cardinal Keith O’Brien. Picture: Jane Barlow/TSPL

CHRISTIANS should wear a cross on their clothes every day as “a symbol of their beliefs”, according to the head of the Catholic Church in Scotland.

In his Easter Sunday homily on Sunday, Cardinal Keith O’Brien will call on Christians to make the cross “more prominent in their lives”.

Speaking at St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh, he will tell them to “wear proudly a symbol of the cross of Christ on their garments each and every day of their lives”.

He will say: “I know that many of you do wear such a cross of Christ, not in any ostentatious way, not in a way that might harm you at your work or recreation, but a simple indication that you value the role of Jesus Christ in the history of the world, that you are trying to live by Christ’s standards in your own daily life.”

Two women who claim they were discriminated against when their employers barred them from wearing the cross are fighting to get their cases heard at the European Court of Human Rights.

Nadia Eweida, 59, of Twickenham, south London, was suspended by British Airways for breaching BA’s uniform code in 2006.

Shirley Chaplin, 56, from Exeter, was barred from working on wards by Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust after refusing to hide the cross she wore on a necklace chain.

During his Sunday sermon, Cardinal O’Brien will quote Pope Benedict XVI, who said Christians “need to be free to act in accordance with their own principles”. The cardinal will say: “I hope that increasing numbers of Christians adopt the practice of wearing a cross in a simple and discreet way as a symbol of their beliefs.

“Easter provides the ideal time to remind ourselves of the centrality of the cross in our Christian faith.

“A simple lapel cross pin costs around £1. Since this is less than a chocolate Easter egg, I hope many people will consider giving some as gifts and wearing them with pride.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “Wearing a religious symbol is entirely a matter for individual members of staff. We have no policy as an employer.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Parliament said: “The Scottish Parliament does not have a specific policy for staff displaying religious symbols in their work attire.”

NHS Scotland advises individual health boards to “conduct a full risk assessment” to ensure that their local dress code policy “is appropriate for different categories of staff and should look to support staff in complying with both the needs of the service and any religious or cultural requirements”.

economic crisis reflects moral crisis

Posted on March 31, 2012 by John Brian Schuettler

“Religious perspectives on the current financial crisis: vision for a just economic order” was the theme of the eleventh meeting of the Bilateral Commission of the Delegations of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and the Holy See’s Commission for Religious Relations with Jews, which was held in Rome from 27 to 29 March. The event was presided by Rabbi Shear Yashuv Cohen, and by Cardinal Peter Kodwo Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.

In an English-language joint statement issued at the end of the meeting, the two sides highlight that, “while many factors contributed to the financial crisis, at its roots lies a crisis of moral values in which the importance of having, reflected in a culture of greed, eclipsed the importance of being; and where the value of truth reflected in honesty and transparency was sorely lacking in economic activity”.

“At the heart of Jewish and Catholic visions for a just economic order is the affirmation of the sovereignty and providence of the Creator of the world with Whom all wealth originates and which is given to humankind as a gift for the common good”, the text adds. Therefore “the purpose of an economic order is to serve the well being of society, affirming the human dignity of all people, each created in the divine image”. This concept “is antithetical to egocentricity. Rather, it requires the promotion of the well being of the individual in relation to community and society”. It also “posits the obligation to guarantee certain basic human needs, such as the protection of life, sustenance, clothing, housing, health, education and employment”. The commission also identifies certain particularly vulnerable categories of people, among them migrant and foreign workers “whose condition serves as a measure of the moral health of society”.

Jews and Catholics: The Economic Crisis is a Crisis of Moral Values (VIS)

The statement recalls the obligation on countries with developed economies “to recognise their responsibilities and duties towards countries and societies in need, especially in this era of globalisation”. In this context the participants in the meeting recall “the universal destination of the goods of the earth; a culture of “enough” that implies a degree of self-limitation and modesty; responsible stewardship; an ethical system of allocation of resources and priorities”. They likewise mention the “partial remission of debts on national and international levels”, highlighting the need “to extend this to families and individuals”.

The members of the bilateral commission underscore the role that faith communities must play in contributing to a responsible economic order, and the importance of their engagement by government, educational institutions, and the media. Finally they note how “the crisis has revealed the profound lack of an ethical component in economic thinking. Hence, it is imperative that institutes and academies of economic studies and policy formation include ethical training in their curricula, similar to that which has developed in recent years in the field of medical ethics”.

W sierpniu podpisanie orędzia

Posted on March 17, 2012 by John Brian Schuettler

W sierpniu br. podczas wizyty patriarchy Moskwy i Wszechrusi Cyryla I zostanie podpisane Wspólne Orędzie do Narodów Rosji i Polski o pojednaniu między naszymi narodami – poinformował KAI abp Stanisław Budzik.

„Ma ono wymiar historyczny, gdyż jeszcze nigdy w dziejach obu naszych Kościołów nie przedłożono wspólnego orędzia” – zaznaczył metropolita lubelski. 15 marca w siedzibie Konferencji Episkopatu Polski w Warszawie odbyło się kolejne spotkanie przedstawicieli Konferencji Episkopatu Polski (KEP) i Rosyjskiego Kościoła Prawosławnego (RKP). Na czele delegacji obu stron stali abp Stanisław Budzik i o. ihumen Filaret z Wydziału Zewnętrznych Kontaktów Kościelnych (OWCS) Patriarchatu Moskiewskiego. Wspólny dokument podpiszą zwierzchnik RKP patriarcha Cyryl i przewodniczący KEP abp Józef Michalik. „Ze strony naszego episkopatu jest wielka determinacja, aby dokument podpisać. Stanie się to podczas sierpniowej wizyty patriarchy w Polsce i prawdopodobnie w siedzibie sekretariatu generalnego KEP w Warszawie. Pragniemy, aby akt ten otworzył nowy rozdział w naszych stosunkach” – powiedział abp Budzik.

Dzisiaj dokonano ostatecznej redakcji orędzia. Prace nad nim trwały prawie dwa lata. Dokument będzie jeszcze przedmiotem konsultacji z udziałem patriarchy, episkopatu Polski oraz Kościołów – prawosławnego w Polsce i katolickiego w Rosji. „Odczuwam wielką satysfakcję, że naszą wspólną pracę udało się doprowadzić do końca. Na pewno dokument będzie miał wielki wpływ na kulturę chrześcijańską naszych narodów. Jest to nasz wkład w dzieło pojednania Polaków i Rosjan. Jest to także odpowiedź na wyzwania, jakie stawia chrześcijaństwu w Europie współczesny świat” – stwierdził metropolita lubelski.

Przypomniał, że dokument składa się z trzech części: pierwsza jest wezwaniem do dialogu i pojednania, druga spojrzeniem na historię, ale w perspektywie przyszłości, trzecia to sformułowanie wspólnych zadań w dziedzinie świadectwa chrześcijańskiego. „W drugiej części, z którą wiązały się kontrowersje, udało się je pokonać. Na część historyczną spojrzeliśmy tak, aby nie wchodzić w szczegóły, które jeszcze nie zostały ostatecznie opracowane przez historyków” – powiedział hierarcha i zaznaczył, że dokument nie kończy dialogu między naszymi Kościołami i narodami, ale jest jego początkiem.

„Jest on wezwaniem do wybaczenia wzajemnych krzywd i pojednania, szukaniu dróg porozumienia. Stoi przed nami wielkie zadanie, aby dawać chrześcijańskie świadectwo współczesnej Europie i światu o wartościach chrześcijańskich, które przez wieki kształtowały dzieje Polski i Rosji, ale także dzisiaj powinny budować naszą teraźniejszość i przyszłość” – oświadczył rozmówca KAI.

Orędzie zawiera prośbę do Boga o wybaczenie i pomoc w poszukiwaniu dróg pojednania. „Nie ma w nim wymienionych konkretnych wzajemnych win, ale jest zachęta do ich wybaczenia. Oczywiście musimy spojrzeć na naszą przeszłość krytycznie. Byliśmy także wspólnie ofiarami II wojny światowej i bezbożnego komunizmu. Kościół prawosławny w Rosji poniósł olbrzymie ofiary, nawet chyba większe niż Kościół katolicki w czasach panowania reżimu komunistycznego” – podkreślił arcybiskup. Dodał, że losami dokumentu osobiście bardzo interesuje się patriarcha Cyryl.

W dzisiejszych rozmowach wzięli udział, obok abp Budzika i ihumena Filareta, bp Tadeusz Pikus i ks. dr Jarosław Mrówczyński, zastępca sekretarza generalnego KEP.

Wszystkie dotychczasowe spotkania przedstawicieli obu stron na temat wspólnego dokumentu o pojednaniu odbyły się w Warszawie. Pierwsze miało miejsce 26 lutego 2010 r. Delegacji polskiej przewodniczył ówczesny metropolita gnieźnieński i prymas Polski abp Henryk Muszyński. „Postanowiono rozpocząć prace nad projektem wspólnego dokumentu na temat wkładu naszych Kościołów w dzieło pojednania między narodami Rosji i Polski. Omówiono tematy przyszłego dialogu i zaproponowano powołanie dwustronnej komisji złożonej z przedstawicieli obu Kościołów. Za pożyteczne uznano zaproszenie do dialogu także przedstawicieli Kościoła Prawosławnego w Polsce i Kościoła Katolickiego w Rosji” – stwierdzał ogłoszony po spotkaniu oficjalny komunikat.

Następne odbyło się 4 czerwca 2010 r.. Na czele delegacji Patriarchatu stał przewodniczący OWCS, metropolita wołokołamski Hilarion. Towarzyszyli mu ihumen Filip (Riabych) – jego zastępca w OWCS i ks. Siergiej Zwonariow, sekretarz do spraw zagranicznych tegoż wydziału. Na tym spotkaniu m.in. zapoznano się z pierwszym projektem przyszłego dokumentu.

St. Francis de Sales

Posted on January 21, 2012 by John Brian Schuettler

Heraldic device of Saint Francis de Sales

Collect: O God, who for the salvation of souls willed that the Bishop Saint Francis de Sales become all things to all, graciously grant that, following his example, we may always display the gentleness of your charity in the service of our neighbor. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Francis was born on August 21, 1567, and ordained to the priesthood in 1593. From 1594 to 1598 he labored at the difficult and dangerous task of preaching to the Protestants of Chablais and effected the return of some 70,000 souls to the Catholic faith. In 1602 he became bishop of Genf. His zeal for souls is attested in 21,000 extant letters and 4,000 sermons which exemplify how he applied St. Paul’s words: “I have become all things to all men.” You may epitomize his character in two words, kindliness and lovableness — virtues that were the secret of his success. His writings reflect his kindheartedness and sweet disposition.

Most widely known is the saint’s Introduction to the Devout Life, which, with the Imitation of Christ, is rightly considered the finest outline of Christian perfection. Francis’ Introduction proves to the world that true piety makes persons amiable, lovable and happy. A renowned and holy friendship existed between him and St. Frances de Chantal. In cooperation with her he founded the Visitation Nuns in 1610. Out of love for his own poor diocese, he refused opportunities for advancement, including the cardinalate. In recognition of the Introduction and his other writings, Francis has been declared a doctor of the Church.

How Francis developed a gentle and amiable disposition is a story in itself; he was not born a saint. By nature his temperament was choleric, fiery; little was needed to throw him into a state of violent anger. It took years before he mastered his impatience, his unruly temper. Even after he became bishop, there were slips, as for instance, when someone rang a bell before he had finished preaching. The important point, of course, is that by constant perseverance he did in time attain perfect self-mastery. Wherein lies a lesson.

— Excerpted from The Church’s Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Buy a copy of Introduction to the Devout Life or read it online here.
Read more about St. Francis de Sales.
Learn more about the errors of Calvinism and the Jansenistic heresy, both of which St. Francis’ converted many followers.

This is really one for all of us, and should have been entitled Driven by the Heart’s Unrest toward Christ

Posted on January 16, 2012 by John Brian Schuettler

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

The Epiphany is a feast of light. “Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you” (Is 60:1). With these words of the prophet Isaiah, the Church describes the content of the feast. He who is the true light, and by whom we too are made to be light, has indeed come into the world. He gives us the power to become children of God (cf. Jn 1:9,12). The journey of the wise men from the East is, for the liturgy, just the beginning of a great procession that continues throughout history. With the Magi, humanity’s pilgrimage to Jesus Christ begins – to the God who was born in a stable, who died on the Cross and who, having risen from the dead, remains with us always, until the consummation of the world (cf. Mt 28:20). The Church reads this account from Matthew’s Gospel alongside the vision of the prophet Isaiah that we heard in the first reading: the journey of these men is just the beginning. Before them came the shepherds – simple souls, who dwelt closer to the God who became a child, and could more easily “go over” to him (Lk 2:15) and recognize him as Lord. But now the wise of this world are also coming. Great and small, kings and slaves, men of all cultures and all peoples are coming. The men from the East are the first, followed by many more throughout the centuries. After the great vision of Isaiah, the reading from the Letter to the Ephesians expresses the same idea in sober and simple terms: the Gentiles share the same heritage (cf. Eph 3:6). Psalm 2 puts it like this: “I shall bequeath you the nations, put the ends of the earth in your possession” (v. 8).

The wise men from the East lead the way. They open up the path of the Gentiles to Christ. During this holy Mass, I will ordain two priests to the episcopate, I will consecrate them as shepherds of God’s people. According to the words of Jesus, part of a shepherd’s task is to go ahead of the flock (cf. Jn 10:4). So, allowing for all the differences in vocation and mission, we may well look to these figures, the first Gentiles to find the pathway to Christ, for indications concerning the task of bishops. What kind of people were they? The experts tell us that they belonged to the great astronomical tradition that had developed in Mesopotamia over the centuries and continued to flourish. But this information of itself is not enough. No doubt there were many astronomers in ancient Babylon, but only these few set off to follow the star that they recognized as the star of the promise, pointing them along the path towards the true King and Saviour. They were, as we might say, men of science, but not simply in the sense that they were searching for a wide range of knowledge: they wanted something more. They wanted to understand what being human is all about. They had doubtless heard of the prophecy of the Gentile prophet Balaam: “A star shall come forth out of Jacob and a sceptre shall rise out of Israel” (Num 24:17). They explored this promise. They were men with restless hearts, not satisfied with the superficial and the ordinary. They were men in search of the promise, in search of God. And they were watchful men, capable of reading God’s signs, his soft and penetrating language. But they were also courageous, yet humble: we can imagine them having to endure a certain amount of mockery for setting off to find the King of the Jews, at the cost of so much effort. For them it mattered little what this or that person, what even influential and clever people thought and said about them. For them it was a question of truth itself, not human opinion. Hence they took upon themselves the sacrifices and the effort of a long and uncertain journey. Their humble courage was what enabled them to bend down before the child of poor people and to recognize in him the promised King, the one they had set out, on both their outward and their inward journey, to seek and to know.

Dear friends, how can we fail to recognize in all this certain essential elements of episcopal ministry? The bishop too must be a man of restless heart, not satisfied with the ordinary things of this world, but inwardly driven by his heart’s unrest to draw ever closer to God, to seek his face, to recognize him more and more, to be able to love him more and more. The bishop too must be a man of watchful heart, who recognizes the gentle language of God and understands how to distinguish truth from mere appearance. The bishop too must be filled with the courage of humility, not asking what prevailing opinion says about him, but following the criterion of God’s truth and taking his stand accordingly – “opportune – importune”. He must be able to go ahead and mark out the path. He must go ahead, in the footsteps of him who went ahead of us all because he is the true shepherd, the true star of the promise: Jesus Christ. And he must have the humility to bend down before the God who made himself so tangible and so simple that he contradicts our foolish pride in its reluctance to see God so close and so small. He must devote his life to adoration of the incarnate Son of God, which constantly points him towards the path.

The liturgy of episcopal ordination interprets the essential features of this ministry in eight questions addressed to the candidates, each beginning with the word “Vultis? – Do you want?” These questions direct the will and mark out the path to be followed. Here I shall briefly cite just a few of the most important words of this presentation, where we find explicit mention of the elements we have just considered in connection with the wise men of today’s feast. The bishops’ task is praedicare Evangelium Christi, it is custodire et dirigere, it is pauperibus se misericordes praebere, it is indesinenter orare. Preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, going ahead and leading, guarding the sacred heritage of our faith, showing mercy and charity to the needy and the poor, thus mirroring God’s merciful love for us, and finally, praying without ceasing: these are the fundamental features of the episcopal ministry. Praying without ceasing means: never losing contact with God, letting ourselves be constantly touched by him in the depths of our hearts and, in this way, being penetrated by his light. Only someone who actually knows God can lead others to God. Only someone who leads people to God leads them along the path of life.

The restless heart of which we spoke earlier, echoing Saint Augustine, is the heart that is ultimately satisfied with nothing less than God, and in this way becomes a loving heart. Our heart is restless for God and remains so, even if every effort is made today, by means of most effective anaesthetizing methods, to deliver people from this unrest. But not only are we restless for God: God’s heart is restless for us. God is waiting for us. He is looking for us. He knows no rest either, until he finds us. God’s heart is restless, and that is why he set out on the path towards us – to Bethlehem, to Calvary, from Jerusalem to Galilee and on to the very ends of the earth. God is restless for us, he looks out for people willing to “catch” his unrest, his passion for us, people who carry within them the searching of their own hearts and at the same time open themselves to be touched by God’s search for us. Dear friends, this was the task of the Apostles: to receive God’s unrest for man and then to bring God himself to man. And this is your task as successors of the Apostles: let yourselves be touched by God’s unrest, so that God’s longing for man may be fulfilled.

The wise men followed the star. Through the language of creation, they discovered the God of history. To be sure – the language of creation alone is not enough. Only God’s word, which we encounter in sacred Scripture, was able to mark out their path definitively. Creation and Scripture, reason and faith, must come together, so as to lead us forward to the living God. There has been much discussion over what kind of star it was that the wise men were following. Some suggest a planetary constellation, or a supernova, that is to say one of those stars that is initially quite weak, in which an inner explosion releases a brilliant light for a certain time, or a comet, etc. This debate we may leave to the experts. The great star, the true supernova that leads us on, is Christ himself. He is as it were the explosion of God’s love, which causes the great white light of his heart to shine upon the world. And we may add: the wise men from the East, who feature in today’s Gospel, like all the saints, have themselves gradually become constellations of God that mark out the path. In all these people, being touched by God’s word has, as it were, released an explosion of light, through which God’s radiance shines upon our world and shows us the path. The saints are stars of God, by whom we let ourselves be led to him for whom our whole being longs. Dear friends: you followed the star Jesus Christ when you said “yes” to the priesthood and to the episcopacy. And no doubt smaller stars have enlightened and helped you not to lose your way. In the litany of saints we call upon all these stars of God, that they may continue to shine upon you and show you the path. As you are ordained bishops, you too are called to be stars of God for men, leading them along the path towards the true light, towards Christ. So let us pray to all the saints at this hour, asking them that you may always live up to this mission you have received, to show God’s light to mankind.

This is really one for all of us, and should have been entitled Driven by the Heart’s Unrest toward Christ (but wasn’t)

The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Posted on January 8, 2012 by John Brian Schuettler

Baptism of Christ fresco by Giotto di Bondone, c. 1305 (Cappella Scrovegni, Padua, Italy).
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord

Citations of
Is 55,1-11:            www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9abtmtbw.htm
Tit 2,11-14; 3,4-7:        www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9araqeb.htm
www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9aggnbc.htm
Mk 1,7-11:             www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/9an3nga.htm

We do not always remember that we were born from water, the Baptismal waters through which we were reborn as a new creation in Christ. The Fathers of the Church have always taught us that the Lord Jesus’ descent into the waters of the Jordan sanctified the water making it the vehicle for His redemption. Therefore, when we are washed in the water blessed by the Lord, we are born into true life. We are regenerated from that water.

St Ambrose clearly reminds us that ordinary water is not enough: ‘For water without the preaching of the Cross of the Lord is of no avail for future salvation, but, after it has been consecrated by the mystery of the saving cross, it is made suitable for the use of the spiritual laver and of the cup of salvation. As, then, Moses, that is, the prophet, cast wood into that fountain, so, too, the priest utters over this font the proclamation of the Lord’s cross, and the water is made sweet for the purpose of grace.’ (St Ambrose, On the Mysteries n12-19) Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan inaugurates the sacramental Baptism of the Children of God. Water is a powerful fountain of life because it is transformed by the mystery of the cross. This is the message of today’s second reading in which St John said of Christ: ‘This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood.’ (1 Jn 5:6)

Jesus descended into the Jordan river, not to be purified, but to purify it and to manifest His descent from heaven to this world for sinners. He was obedient unto His descent to become the lowliest, obedient unto the self-emptying (kenosi) of His dignity, obedient unto His death, death on the Cross. From this Sacrifice He replenishes the water that flows to us and, by the merits of His passion, He brings us the Cross that renews us.

Above all, Jesus Baptism in the Jordan reminds us of the value of our Baptism and how much it cost Our Lord. He acquired us at a high price and therefore the life of the baptised person cannot be a life of ‘only water’, a watered down life but rather it must be a life of blood and water, joy, sorrow and resurrection that is achieved by the Cross.

Contemplating Jesus, who descended into the Jordan, let us ask for the grace to welcome the cross so that our renewal as Sons of God will reach its ultimate fulfilment in heavenly joy which is accessible only to those that choose, along with Christ and through Him, to live their little ‘kenosi’ with love.

THE HONOR OF GOD

Defending the Honor of God in a culture of death by renewing a Judeo-Christian Living Foundation

Category Archives: Our Brothers in Christ

…And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4: 12

W sierpniu podpisanie orędzia

St. Francis de Sales