Bl. Louis and Marie Martin, pray for us

Cindy Wooden of the Catholic New Service reports that Pope Benedict XVI has given the green light to the canonization of Louis and Marie Zelie Guerin Martin. Louis and Marie, as some of you may know, are the parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. According to the CNS report, the Martins will be raised to the altar on 19 October, which is World Mission Sunday. The ceremony will take place in the Basilica dedicated to their daughter in Lisieux, France.

The Martins were declared blessed in 1994, during the feverish saint-making days of Pope John Paul II, the pace of which his successor has sought to slow down somewhat, including holding the canonization celebrations outside Rome, and not personally presiding at them. Even though JPII actively encouraged their full canonization, they were not declared saints because the miracle needed in order for their canonization to take place did not receive approval until July of this year.

Louis was born in 1823 and died in 1894. Marie was born in 1831 and died in 1877. Together they had nine children. Of this number, five joined religious orders. In my view the Martins' holiness is demonstrated in the first instance by having children and then by fostering vocations among them. By virtue of our baptism we all have a vocation, it is the job of parents to educate children about destiny, about the very reason for which they exist, for which God made them, and to let children know that their birth represents your cooperation with God and raising them is your vocation. Speaking to young men and women Don Giussani, in one of his characteristically frank moments, said:

"The dramatic thing is that 99 per cent of mothers no longer teach these things to their children. Because of this, they're no longer mothers. Mother can be a filly, if mother means to throw something out from your womb. She is a mother [only] if she educates in destiny" (Is It Possible to Live This Way, Vol 1, pg 113).

Please keep in mind that this is Giussani in a passionate moment speaking to Catholic people who are on the verge of becoming Memores Domini and so committing their lives to perpetual virginity and to living in community. My using it is not a cudgel with which to beat people up because I'd have to start with myself. As Suzanne aptly noted, even as parents we still need conversion. I use this quote to bring home the importance of the matter. Perhaps we did not find what corresponded to our hearts until later in life, maybe even after we had children and they were grown or nearly so. Rather than feel guilty, in the words of JPII, "Follow Christ!" Keep in mind the words of Jesus: "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9,62).

It is worth noting that the success the Martins had in fulfilling their marital vocation got off to a rocky start. They originally planned to live together celibately, even though they were married. According to Fr. James Martin, SJ, writing over on America magazine's In All Things blog, it was a confessor who straightened them out about their confusion. So, I am elated to see the Martins raised to the altar precisely because they responded to the correction issued them by a wise priest, who helped them understand that destiny for them was to be achieved through marriage, which, according to the church, by its nature, includes children (can. 1055 §1)

Without a doubt their initial intention to live together celibately came from their true desire to serve God. However, such a manner of living is not Christian marriage. Rather, it represents confusion about vocation, about the state of life to which they were called. Looking at their confusion in light of what the church teaches, which is always the appropriate criterion by which to objectively evaluate our lives, under the 1983 Code of Canon Law (there was no singular code in effect during the Martins' lifetime, the so-called Pio-Benedictine code, the first unified code only being promulgated in 1917) a celibate marriage is not a valid, that is, not a sacramental marriage because such a marriage would never be consummated. In addition, their initial desire demonstrated a clear intention against children. So, their marriage was not only kept from being an abuse of the sacrament, it flowered into something beautiful for God. As a husband and a parent, I look forward to asking for their intercession.

A few brief thoughts on chastity and teens

Having had some extra time today after finishing and sending my first post-residency paper for better or for worse, I was cleaning out my cathedral e-mail box today and I came across something I sent several months ago in response to a very personal question. So, here are a few thoughts on answering the inquiries of older teens about sex with an eye toward educating them to be chaste, even when being chased, which means educating about destiny.

In talking to older teenagers, who are, realistically, too old to control by parental force or fiat, about sex it is important to both recognize and not impose on their freedom. Have a little trust that their desire is for happiness and that they are seeking what corresponds to their hearts, even if they're confused or mistaken about freedom and happiness. In other words, start from a positive hypothesis. Seek to educate them about their destiny, the path to which is through this world, through their own humanity, which includes their sexuality, which, if misused, can lead to a precipitous fall off path to destiny and be deleterious to their happiness even now.

Along these same lines as parents and adults to whom young people turn for support and guidance, we must understand that guilt trips are never helpful and lead to either rejection or neurosis, but not to Christ. Respecting their freedom, while being unrelenting about the truth, called among Christians teaching the truth in love, is always the way to go. It is the harder path given what it is at stake. Nevertheless, anxiety about outcomes is always the result of the risk-taking Love requires of us. This anxiety, born of concern, drives us to our knees in prayer, especially as parents. Keeping our children in prayer, whether they are in our charge as a result of birth, affinity, or circumstance, is key. I suggest offering intentions to our Blessed Mother when praying a rosary everyday. Mother Mary is very good with these situations, as is St. Mary Magdalene, and St. Gianni Molla. This suggestion only remains a cliché if you do not follow up. It is up to us to verify these claims of our faith with humble hearts.

Giussani on melancholy

In the Assembly at the end of chapter two of Is It Possible to Live This Way?, Giussani talks about the need to begin from what he calls "a positive hypothesis" (pg. 110). After explaining this by using an example of his own early struggles as a young student with mathematics, he is asked how his insistence on the need to approach living with a positive hypothesis coheres with his praise of a melancholy disposition in School of Community. Given my own predisposition, which, as I get older, becomes more my intentional disposition, I understood his reply because it rings true in my experience, particularly of my inward state, my I.
St. Augustine

"The melancholy temperament is defined as positive in as much as it is predisposed to intuit more easily the limits that exist in what seems obvious in all things. All things are limited" (pg. 111).

I think a good exemplar of this so-called melancholy disposition that arises from the realization that all things are limited, keeping in mind that God is not a thing, a mere existent, is St. Augustine. This characteristic, which he expresses so well in all his writings, in my view, is what makes the late, great bishop of Hippo Regius perennially so contemporary.

Giussanni goes on to explore melancholy a bit more extensively, positing a different kind of melancholy, in addition to the one he praises.

"There is a melancholy that makes one understand the limits of things, and that, therefore, makes you understand that things are made and sustained by another and it thrusts you into the search for something else" (ibid).

This "something else," which turns out to be some One else, is, again, not a thing bound by the limits of the world. He is Christ.

Then, there is a melancholy, best described as depression, which seems to be a pandemic in western society,

"that says 'Everything is nothing.' Like certain people who afterwards, give you a stomach ache, because they come to be consoled by you, and you tell them: 'But no, there are also good things,' they say: 'No, everything is nothing, nothing is worth anything'; 'Then get out and go home!'" (pgs. 111-112)

In reading this I became fully aware that it is Christ who prevents my melancholy, which arises from my realization that the world is limited, as are both my perception and intuition, from becoming depression. Christ grants me victory in my struggle. Indeed, "the victory that conquers the world is our faith" (1 Jn 5,3b). He makes me whole because in Him I find the Other that my I seeks, an Other that is not subject to limitations of mere things and who shows me that my destiny also lies beyond the limitations of things.

Books and Balthasar

The other day over on Deep Furrows, Fred provided a link to a blog that, in turn, provided this link to a blow out sale at Ignatius Press. Of course, being a notorious bibliophile, I immediately went to the sale page. Consequently, I purchased:

Hugo Rahner's Church and State in Early Christianity for $3.00
Balthasar's Explorations in Theology, Vol. 3, Creator Spirit for $5.00 (I have the first two volumes)
Balthasar's Theo-logic, Vol. 1, The Truth of the World for $9.00
Balthasar's Theo-logic, Vol. 2, The Truth of God for $9.00
Balthasar's Theo=logic, Vol. 3, The Truth of the Spirit for $9.00 (I have The Glory of the Lord and spent considerable time with his aesthetics)

So, for $41.00, which includes shipping, I bought books that would have cost somewhere between $120.00-$140.00. A great deal. Of course, I had to purchase, which I did rather inexpensively through a seller on Amazon, Fr. Aidan Nichols' Say It is Pentecost: A Guide Through Balthasar's Logic. This will be project after my master's degree is done. Fr. Nichols, with whom I had the pleasure of spending an afternoon in SLC some years ago, is a great expositor of Balthasar. Probably the best introductory book for anyone unfamiliar with Balthasar and wanting to read him, which is an intimidating prospect, is Fr Edward Oakes' Pattern of Redemption: The Theology of Hans Urs Von Balthasar.

"All you've got to do is believe and All you've got to do is receive"

As a new Christian, a new Catholic who found many members of the Catholic clergy very put out by requests for pastoral help, Glenn Kaiser saved me many times with the sage advice he gave in his Kaiz Replies column in the old print version of Cornerstone magazine. He still doles out great pastoral advice on his website (which I have added to My Own Personal Linkage list). On days I received a new copy of C-stone, which came out erratically, but oddly enough always seemed to arrive when I needed it, I put off whatever else I was doing and read it cover to cover. By reading it, I learned a lot about being a Christian in the late modern U.S.A., both in terms of what to seek and what to eschew (I had to use that word). I was once the Cornerstone trekker of the month, having my picture taken holding a copy of Cornerstone while standing in Cleopatra's Gate in Tarsus, St. Paul's hometown.

The worship album, All My Days, on which this song about Glenn's conversion was initially released, is a prayer starter for me on many days. I just wanted to say publicly, as one who now ministers, that is, deacons, how much Glenn served me, even across a distance and not in person. So, thanks Glenn for your continued witness. You are, indeed, a protagonist.

Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary by El Greco, 1577

Today, dear friends, is a holy day of obligation, a day on which we do not have to go to Mass (who is going to make you?), but on which we get to go! What a glorious feast to celebrate such a magnificent event! Heck, since it is a solemnity, which is to be observed as a Sunday, which means no fasting or abstinence, have a cheeseburger for lunch!

The painting (which I swapped for the one I had originally posted by Murillo) is one of my favorite works of art. While in diaconal formation we had to pick an image of the Blessed Virgin and write a reflection on it. This was easy for me as I love this painting because it increases my affection for our Blessed Mother.

Ave, María grátia plena,
Dóminus tecum; benedícta tu in muliéribus,
et benedíctus fructus ventris tui, Iesus.

Sancta María, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatóribus,
nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

Deacon Greg Kandra has posted his homily for this great solemnity. His preaching focuses on the aspect of the Gospel that shows how Mary, during her lifetime, was on a journey and so are we. He makes a wonderful link with how so many Marian shrines are pilgrimage destinations. It is well worth your time. It is a good reflection on how Mary is an exemplar of being toward destiny.

Suzanne posts a remarkable video of Pope John Paul II, recorded during his Apostolic Visit to the U.S. in the '80s. It is appropriate to be reminded on this solemnity by him whose episcopal motto referred to his total consecration to our Blessed Mother, Totus Tuus, totally yours, to "follow Christ". This is also Mary's perennial message in all her various apparitions. So, Suzanne's video will count for our traditio because it corresponds to my heart.

On two lighter notes, it is heartening, as the Ironic Catholic reports on this solemnity of the Assumption, that "Shoe Rosaries" Win Intense Homeschooler Summer Craft Competition. Finally, Fred, author of Deep Furrows, gives a short history of the Vatican Space program in 1950: a grace odyssey.

P.S.
Re: Integrity Notes- I have never been accused of any legal or ethical lapses. I just want to write with credibility, which means doing it with integrity. So, these notes represent some thinking that I have been doing over the past two months.

The "Strategist"

Okay, I am an INTJ which is a strategist, intellectual. This profile, according to the experts, applies to just 1.5% of the general population, 2.5% of men and .5% of women. This comes as no surprise to me as I took the Briggs-Myers years ago during some stressful training and the came out with the same profile. My career and ministry are both good areas for my personality type for the most part. Ministry puts more stress and strain on me than does my job, which for most people would probably prove way more stressful than ministry. So, INTJ is an accurate general description of my personality. I found it interesting to see which famous people and fictional characters share this personality type. Here are some:


Historical:
Augustus Caesar
Fr. Erik Richtsteig
William F. Buckley, Jr
C.S. Lewis
C. Everett Koop
Chevy Chase
Dwight Eisenhower
Angela Landsbury
Donald Rumsfeld
Colin Powell
Jane Austen
Rudy Giuliani
Isaac Newton
Thomas Jefferson
The Ironic Catholic
Woodrow Wilson

Fictional:
Gandalf
Hannibal Lecter
Michael Corleone
Mr. Burns
Mr. Darcy
Rosenkramtz and Guildenstern
Stewie Griffin
Vito Corleone

Perhaps I'll change the name of my blog to Guildenstern Chronicles, or Stewie Griffin Conquers the World, or The Godfather, or simply Clarice, I'm Hungry.

About a year ago, I did the My Personal DNA, which put me as a "Benevolent Innovator," which description I like.