Archive for November, 2009
Monday Church Jeopardy
Monday, November 30th, 2009
So, last week’s church was the ancient church of St. Clement, who was the fourth pope. From St. Peter until today, we have had 265 popes in succession. Not bad!
The church for this week is very dear to the Religious Order known as the Society of Jesus (commonly called the “Jesuits”). The arm of the famed “second apostle in India” can be found within this church.
Have fun!
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The Lord’s Day and some Natural Law
Sunday, November 29th, 2009
This morning one of the student priests offered the community Mass in the priest house. It’s always a blessing to have bishops and leaders in the Church visit the house and offer Mass, but it was a blessing today to just have one of our own preside at Mass. It was a good way to start the simplicity of Advent.
After Mass, I was fortunate to host Dr. Russell Hittinger (pictured above) and two priest-professors for lunch at the priest house. It was a great table conversation. Dr. Hittinger has written extensively on the natural law and its use in ethics and moral theology. I’m using a portion of his writings for my thesis, and what a grace it was to sit and ask him questions.
After lunch, Dr. Hittinger had some additional time, so the four of us sat in one of the parlors and continued the discussion. It was a great source of encouragement to me in my thesis topic and its research.
The natural law is an ancient argument which teaches that humanity participates in the eternal law of God by reason and will, and is able to know right from wrong in this participation. By knowing right from wrong, the human person is then able to begin efforts to do the right and to avoid the wrong. “God” in this context is our understanding of him before revealed religion (what we call natural religion). This means that anyone can have this basic understanding, even those who do not know or who have not accepted the revelation of God (and the fullness of that revelation in Jesus Christ). This is why the Church is comfortable in using the natural law argument to present moral truth in a pluralistic, democratic society. It covers everyone, and it will resonate with anyone seeking personal goodness or fairness in society.
The natural law of itself cannot redeem anyone, and the attempts to live the tenets of the natural law expose our fallenness and need for divine help. But, this is another argument.
After my conversation with Dr. Hittinger and the two professors, I attempted to form an outline and summary of the discussion. I was also trying to develop some of the existing arguments in my thesis. It was a Sunday full of learning, enlightenment, and reflection. Too bad that tomorrow is Monday…
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Advent has Begun…
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
This morning, I headed to the Rome airport to meet a friend from South Carolina who will be visiting the city for a little bit. We were able to spend some time together in the morning, which included a tour of St. Peter’s Square.
In the afternoon, we met up with some other folks from South Carolina, and headed to Solemn Vespers with Pope Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Basilica. It was a beautiful Vespers, which is the formal evening prayer of the Church which consists of praying the Psalms, a Gospel canticle, offering petitions, and acknowledging the presence and goodness of God.
This evening’s Vespers was the First Vespers of Advent. Which means, here we go, Advent has begun! As a universal Church we enter a concentrated time of preparation for the Birth of Christ. This is a time for renewal and for reform in Jesus Christ.
Each of us should look at our lives and ask, “What is the Lord asking of me?” “What good have I been able to offer him?” “How much deeper can my discipleship be?” “Where have I failed or weakened in my commitment to him?”
This is the time for discernment and examination. It’s a blessed time for new beginnings and an outpouring of grace. It’s a time for conversion, and for reasonable commitments to the Lord Jesus.
Each of us need to take the time to soak in the invitation and call of the Advent season. We should not let this time pass without spiritual fruit and signs of change in Jesus Christ. Let the games begin…
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Black Friday
Friday, November 27th, 2009
This morning, in my methods class, we went over the document, “The Interpretation of the Bible In the Church.” It shows the full length of considerations when interpreting and teaching the Bible. It was issued by the Pontifical Bible Commission in 1994. The commission is the body of biblical experts that counsel and advise the pope on the Sacred Scriptures. It has no authority of itself, but sometimes it issues documents as a help to the study and instruction of the Bible. In my class we’re going over the document as a review on how we read and interpret the Bible as Catholics.
In the afternoon, I met up with some folks from South Carolina. They are visiting Rome, and we were able to tour St. Peter’s Basilica together. The basilica was a little cramped: they’re setting up for Advent Vespers tomorrow night, and have begun work on the Nativity Scene within the church. So, there was a lot of work going on.
Speaking of hustle and bustle, it’s Black Friday: shop ’til you drop! Oh, yeah. You have got to love the shopping frenzy. Maybe? I hope all the brave souls who were up early this morning got all the best deals! Mom, I hope you fared well! 
In all the shopping, I’d like to remind everyone of the many Catholic resources that are available. Christmas can be a gentle time to remind and encourage someone in their practice of the Faith. One of the really good Catholic on-line stores is: www.catholicposters.com. They have some great stuff. I’d also like to remind our readers of the Signo Store on this website. It has a few items which might serve as edifying Christmas presents.
Enjoy the rest of this holiday weekend!
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Calling All Readers!
Thursday, November 26th, 2009
This is amazing! Now, we’ve heard from a fourth area of South Carolina, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, and Montana! You’re all awesome! And, wow!, go Montana!!!
So, we’re going to give another shout out to any readers out there! We’re continuing our “Who’s Out There?!” search and exploration. We’ve got Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina. Anyone in Georgia? What about Virginia? Alabama? Or, any other southern state? What about out West? Anyone in the area of our friend in Montana? What about you Yankees up North? I can’t believe there aren’t any readers in New York – it seems there are New Yorkers everywhere! What about New Jersey – are you really the gardening state? Is there any grass or trees up there? All right, come on folks. Give a shout out to your state, and let us all know “who’s out there?!”
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Thanksgiving Greetings!
Thursday, November 26th, 2009
Do you know what they call Thanksgiving in Italy? Well, they just call it THURSDAY!
You gotta love that one! Yes, it’s true. Hard to believe, but true. Thanksgiving does not exist in Italy. It is a real, truly American holiday. I love it!
This morning for Mass, the priest house was blessed to have Cardinal William Levada preside at the Thanksgiving Mass (pictured above). The Cardinal is the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). A “prefect” is like a department secretary, a “congregation” is like a department, and the CDF is in charge of supervising the content and integrity of Church teaching. It is one of the central offices of the Vatican, and the pope’s immediate counsel for doctrine and theology. Cardinal Levada was named the prefect by Pope Benedict XVI after he (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) was elected pope.
In the entire history of the Church, Cardinal Levada holds the highest office ever held by an American. In our nation’s over two hundred year history, the Cardinal is unique in holding this distinguished office.
After Mass, we had our Thanksgiving dinner: turkey and pasta. Oh, yes, always pasta! After the meal, there were the three traditional toasts: to the Pope, the homeland, and the Priest House. I was asked to give the third, and I decided to make it slightly humorous. I used the image of a Bible College back home in the South as a basis for the toast, and drew comical parallels. Everyone seemed to enjoy it, or at least have a few laughs.
After lunch, there were several other activities and gatherings. It was a great day to just relax.
Happy Thanksgiving!
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National Shout Out!
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
Here we go! We’re continuing our exciting “Who’s Out There?!” exploration. So far, we’ve heard from Chicagoland, two cowgirls from Texas, a student from New Hampshire, and some folks from three different parts of South Carolina. Each of them gave a “shout out” to their home state or city. But, the request for shout outs continues…
If you’re reading the blog, please send a quick comment and let us all know who else is reading in. How about any other Northern states? Do we have anyone from Rhode Island? New York? How about some other Southern states? Louisiana? Anyone got any gulf shrimp? How about any folks over on the Left Coast, I mean, West Coast? What about Kansas? Anyone from Munchkin City? Let’s really stretch it: anyone from Hawaii or Alaska? We’re calling for an all-state, general SHOUT OUT! Let’s see who else we hear from… Who’s Out There?!
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Freedom and giving Thanks
Wednesday, November 25th, 2009
On the eve of our country’s Thanksgiving holiday, I wanted to follow-up again on freedom, and offer a few reflections on this essential aspect of being a human person.
The above image is of the now famous “Tank Man.” He was one of the Chinese college students who called for freedom from the Communist government in 1989. He was willing to stand for freedom (even in front of a tank). Tank Man has become a universal sign of the human spirit and of our natural desire for freedom.
With this image, here are a few thoughts…
The concept of freedom played a huge role in my early life and in my formation as a young person. I grew up from about the age of 9 – 12 years old in Mainz, then- West Germany. My father was in the American military and assigned to that area. Growing up in the shadow of the Berlin Wall and the Iron Curtain heightened the reality of freedom and its central importance to life.
My understanding of freedom was understood within the law, which was a result of the military environment and my parent’s expectations. “Right” and “wrong” were clear, and wrong actions were justly disciplined.
My view of freedom, however, was not yet mature. I saw the law (God’s law and human law) and true freedom as opposites: the law is external to who I am, and it is something that hinders my freedom for a greater good; freedom – meaning that I can do whatever I want – is expressed outside of the law and is allowed when there is no threat that I might cause harm or evil to the freedom of others. For me, it was that clear.
But, it wasn’t just me. This supposed tension between freedom and law is a mark of our contemporary Western society.
In my search and esteem for freedom, I learned a deeper lesson. And, I’d like to point to a more mature view of freedom, one that is given by the death and resurrection of the Son of God and elaborated upon in the Sacred Scriptures. The reality of freedom is much more harmonious, peaceful, and edifying.
I’d like to use some quotes from “Veritatis Splendor,” the teaching letter of Pope John Paul II on moral theology.
“God’s law does not reduce, much less do away with human freedom; rather, it protects and promotes that freedom” (#35).
“Human freedom and God’s law meet and are called to intersect, in the sense of man’s free obedience to God and of God’s completely gratuitous benevolence towards man” (#41).
“Patterned on God’s freedom, man’s freedom is not negated by his obedience to the divine law; indeed, only through this obedience does it abide in truth and conform to human dignity” (#42).
“Man achieves such dignity when he frees himself from all subservience to his feelings, and in a free choice of the good, pursues his own end by effectively and assiduously marshaling the appropriate means” (#42).
“The acting subject personally assimilates the truth contained in the law. He appropriates this truth of his being and makes it his own by his acts and the corresponding virtues” (#52).
“Indeed, something more serious has happened: man is no longer convinced that only in the truth can he find salvation. The saving power of truth is contested, and freedom alone, uprooted from any objectivity, is left to decide by itself what is good and what is evil. This relativism becomes, in the field of theology, a lack of trust in the wisdom of God, who guides man with the moral law” (#84).
“The Crucified Christ reveals the authentic meaning of freedom; he lives it fully in the total gift of himself and calls his disciples to share in his freedom” (#85).
“Rational reflection and daily experience demonstrate the weakness which marks human freedom. That freedom is real but limited: its absolute and unconditional origin is not in itself, but in the life within which it is situated and which represents for it, at one and the same time, both a limitation and a possibility. Human freedom belongs to us as creatures; it is a freedom which is given as a gift, one to be received like a seed and to be cultivated responsibly” (#86).
“What is more, within his errors and negative decisions, man glimpses the source of a deep rebellion, which leads him to reject the Truth and the Good in order to set himself up as an absolute principle unto himself: ‘You will be like God’ (Gen 3:5). Consequently, freedom itself needs to be set free. It is Christ who sets it free: he ‘has set us free for freedom’” (cf Gal 5:1). (#86)
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Who’s Out There?!
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009
When I was young and my family lived out in the country, I remember a few times someone would come to the door late at night. Someone, usually my father, would yell, “Who’s out there?!”
Well, let’s have some fun on the blog. I want to ask the same question: who’s out there?!
Here’s what I’d like to ask: could a few folks send some comments, and identify what state (or country) in which you’re living. This could help us all to understand “who’s out there!” I’ve gotten a few recent comments (and private e-mails), which raised this question in my mind.
I’m just curious. Is there anyone out there from Alaska? Or, Maine? Wait, do people really live in these places? What about states like Colorado? Or, Wyoming? Is it snowing there yet? How about New York, or that state that starts with Massac…. (does anyone know how to spell that one)? Any cowboys in Texas reading in? Oh, wait! How about any Canadians? Got any maple syrup? Oh, and the list goes on. So, come on folks, let’s see how many places are identified before next Sunday.
So, Who’s Out There?!
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Monday Church Jeopardy
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009
All right, bravo to all the folks who sent in an answer to last week’s jeopardy. The answer was St. Paul, Outside-the-Walls. The basilica’s feast day was November 18, which it shares with St. Peter’s Basilica.
This week we have one of the oldest Christian churches in Rome. It was built over one of the original house churches. Before it was legal to be a Christian, the Christians had to meet secretly on homes for the Eucharist and prayers. Our church this week was built over one of those house churches.
The church this week was named after the fourth pope, St. Peter’s third successor.
The challenge: please identify the church and give one fact about it. Have fun!
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