Bearing the Cross is love

Readings: Isa 50:5-9a; Ps 116:1-6.8-9; Jas 2:14-18; Mark 8:27-35

The readings for this week should be read over and over until your heart absorbs them. In our Gospel for this week Jesus teaches His disciples the central paradox of our Christian faith: "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel will save it" (Mark 8:35).

Works born of faith amount to selfless service of others. The Cross reveals to us the way we should live. Christ's resurrection, of which He gives the disciples only the briefest hint in today's Gospel, shows us what it means to be saved. Of course, all will be resurrected. Our Lord Himself said, "Do not be amazed at this, because the hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come out, those who have done good deeds to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked deeds to the resurrection of condemnation" (John 5:28-29).

The common objection to this line of reasoning usually consists in drawing the conclusion that Christianity, at its core, is selfish. This selfishness bids the believer to be good, not for goodness sake, but to receive a reward. I suppose in some instances this objection may be spot-on. But I contend that wanting to live forever is not selfish. It is our deepest longing. This longing is present in everyone, whether or not s/he is a Christian.

Living forever is the very purpose for which God made us and for which He redeemed us. Therefore, this desire is the spark of the divine image within every person and so our longing, at its deepest level, is love of God. It is the only thing that makes it possible for us to respond to God, which is why, in the end, it is all grace. It is this love that also constitutes our just love of self. It has been noted that to truly love another is to love his/her destiny. This principle is very important today with everything happening in our society.

All of this helps us to grasp Jesus' exhortation in today's Gospel as well as His summary of the law, a few chapters on in St Mark's Gospel: the two great commandments- "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these" (Mark 12:30-31). We were made from love in order to love. Hence, only those who truly love, who become selfless, will be saved. It is not too much to say that becoming selfless is salvation. Selflessness is certainly liberating.

French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre, in his play No Exit, which is about the afterlife, famously wrote, "Hell is other people." In the context of the play Sartre was referring to what he called "the Look," by which he meant something like the lifelong struggle of worrying about how other people see us. Indeed, this can be hell, which is why people who aren't hung up worrying about this are happier than those who do. Because in the end it is all about love, you need not fear how others will see you because they will love you as they love themselves and you will love them as you love yourself. It seems to me that the cause of our deepest insecurity is worrying that if people knew us we knew ourselves, they wouldn't like us and may even loathe us. Just as we want to be known and loved we must recognize that this what other people want too. But this is where the Cross comes in, where things like not just forgiving, but loving your enemies comes into play.

The words of Isaiah's Suffering Servant are really the culmination God's word for us today: "The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; Therefore I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. He who declares my innocence is near. Who will oppose me?" (Isa 50:7-8a).

Lux Aeterna

Today is 9/11. Let us honor those who were murdered with dignity. Above all, let us pray for peace. "He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death' or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away" (Rev 21:4). That is all I am going post about it.

Our Friday traditio for 9/11 is Part of Lux Aeterna by Morten Lauridsen:

UPDATED: On the Holy See's Annulment reforms

I assume that most of my readers are aware that today Pope Francis issued two Apostolic Letters motu proprio (i.e., on his own authority as Supreme Pontiff) concerning how petitions of the faithful to annul marriages are adjudicated: Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus and Mitis et Misericos Iesus, respectively. These letters change the Codex Iuris Canonici, the code of canon law governing the Latin, or Roman Catholic, Church and the Index Canonum Ecclesiarum Orientalum, the unified code of canon law governing the 22 Eastern Churches in communion with the Holy See. These changes to Church law are the result of the work of a commission appointed by the Holy Father last September shortly before the opening of last fall's Extraordinary Synod on the Family.

Being a Roman Catholic deacon I am only concerned with Mitis Iudex Dominus Iesus, which reforms canon law for the Latin Church. Without waxing too editorial or exceeding my very limited competency, here are the major reforms set forth in the Holy Father's motu proprio as I understand them:

First, annulments will be free of charge. Apparently in some dioceses the cost to petition for an annulment is quite expensive. This is not so in my diocese, even for a formal case, and never has been. I suppose the effect on diocesan finances and tribunal staffing will vary from place to place. Perhaps this will be an incentive for dioceses to establish and maintain not only robust marriage preparation, but better lifelong marriage and family life ministries. There seems to be some leeway left for there to be administrative fees, however.

Updated The heart of the reform is the so-called "fast-track" annulment. Such an annulment, which will be adjudicated locally on the authority of the(/a- some dioceses have auxiliary bishops) bishop, must be consented to by both parties. Petitions that can be "fast-tracked" will be decided locally within the diocese and will not be subjected to review by a tribunal of second instance. Of course, only formal cases, as opposed Ligamen, Lack of Form, Pauline Privilege cases, will be heard in this way. The other types of petitions are already determined locally and relatively quickly in most instances. Currently all formal cases are adjudicated by the tribunal of first instance, the diocesan tribunal with competency to hear the case, and a tribunal of second instance.

The tribunal of second instance is usually the tribunal of another diocese in the same metropolitan province, or archdiocese. For example, in my diocese, the Diocese of Salt Lake City, which is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of San Francisco, or, as I like to say, we're the eastern-most outpost of the archdiocese, the Marriage Tribunal for the Diocese of Oakland serves as our tribunal of second instance.

Appeals of judgments made in "fast track" cases will be made to the archbishop of the metropolitan province. For examples of grounds for a "fast-track" annulment along with a canonical discussion of them see Dr Ed Peters' "A second look at Mitis, especially at the new fast-track annulment process."

Updated The third reform is related to the second: if, after being summoned twice, the Respondent (i.e., the spouse not petitioning for an annulment) doesn't respond to the tribunal, then the annulment will move forward on the assumption that s/he consents that the marriage is null, presumably on the stated ground(s). This makes it possible for a petition to be fast-tracked in cases where the consent of one the parties is not explicitly given.

Fourth, in cases that are adjudicated locally by a bishop, the judge must be a cleric, that is, a bishop, priest, or deacon. I don't believe this is a change, but merely a reiteration of what is in the current law.

There will be likely be more to follow here on this and marriage as we make our way to next month's Synod.

"Ephphatha!"- Be opened!

Readings: Is 35:4-7a; Ps 146:7-10;Jas 2:1-5;Mark 7:31-37

I think the key to understanding our readings for this Sunday is found in the reading from the Letter of James. The key is stated in the form of a question: "Did not God choose those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who love him?" (Jas 2:5). Of course, this is what is commonly referred to as a rhetorical question, that is, a question to which the answer is already known by the questioner. Nonetheless, questions have a way of making us think about things a little more deeply. Even rhetorical questions serve this function. In case anyone is wondering, the answer to the question posed in James is, Yes, God chooses those who are poor in worldly terms "to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom."

In our first reading from Isaiah we encounter a prophetic utterance about the salvation God was to bring and give to us in Christ Jesus. What will the salvation of God look like to those who can see and hear? It's a world restored, one in which the blind see, the lame not only walk but leap, the mute speak, the desert blooms, sands become pools of refreshing water. It is a world transformed, unrecognizable to those who cannot see and hear.

If you were to refer to one of the maps in your Bible that show Israel in Jesus' time you would notice that in this pericope ("pericope" being a coherent unit in the canonical Gospels- most of the our Gospel readings at Mass are pericopes) Jesus covers a lot of territory. It is around 20 miles from Tyre to Sidon and some forty miles from Sidon back to the Sea of Galilee. Once at the Sea of Galilee He moves along its shore to area of the Decapolis, an area where ten pagan cities could be found, the same area in which the village of Gadara was located. It was outside of Gadara that Jesus, immediately upon His arrival after a tempestuous crossing of the Sea of Galilee, encountered the demoniac from whom He cast out demons into a herd of pigs (Mark 5:1-20). After possessing the pigs, the demons caused them to run headlong off a cliff and into the sea drowning them all. This is what our enemy desires, to kill us, causing both mortal and eternal death. So terrible was this demonstration of Jesus' power that the Gadarenes asked Him to leave.

The unnamed man from whom Jesus cast out the demons wanted to go with Him, but the Lord bid him to stay where was and to tell the people there what He had done for him. Our Lord's exhortation for him to stay behind and testify to what Jesus had done for him was a departure from Jesus telling others, particularly His fellow Jews, not tell anyone what He had done for them. Hence, I don't think it's too far-fetched to surmise that the reason there was a crowd that met Jesus upon His arrival was due to the ministry of the man from whom Jesus cast out the demons.

Virtually every Bible commentator links Jesus' healing of the deaf and mute man in today's Gospel with our first reading from Isaiah 35. It is also interesting to note, as Michael Card does, that the word used by Mark and translated as "groaned" is akin to the word "Paul uses for the Spirit's groaning on our behalf in Romans 8:26" (Mark: The Gospel of Passion 102). Card further notes that Mark depicts, not just here but throughout his Gospel, "the emotional Jesus" (102). From our Lord's deep groan He speaks the Aramaic word Ephphatha, which means, as Mark indicates, "Be opened!" (Mark 7:34)

Then, as now, those with disabilities were marginalized, set aside, not included in society. People with disabilities are usually among the poor and dispossessed of the world, which means they are beloved by the Lord and heirs of God's kingdom. The fact they are beloved is often made manifest in the beautiful faith many disabled people have, which they very often communicate by their joy. What we fail to see is that our need is not only not less than theirs, but is greater. Being well-off and possessing gifts that enable us to succeed in the world can be a greater handicap than those conditions we usually think of as being handicaps.

One of the prayers that constitute the Rite of Baptism for infants and small children is called "Ephphatha." It takes place after the child is baptized, anointed with chrism, clothed in the baptismal garment, and the parents and godparents are presented with a baptismal candle. As this prayer is said, the celebrant touches the child's ears and mouth while saying,

The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and the dumb speak. May he soon touch your ears to receive his word, and your mouth to proclaim his faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father

As Card discerns, "Jesus' groaning words, 'Be opened,' represent the deepest hope of the gospel: that you and I might truly hear and eventually clearly speak the good news" (Mark: The Gospel of Passion 102). The good news can be spoken in two words: Jesus Christ.

Twenty-third Friday in Ordinary Time

St Olaf's Weekly School Mass

Readings: Col 1:15-20; Ps 100:1b-5; Luke 5:33-39

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to see God? Or, have you wondered what God would be like if He were to come into the world?

Twenty years ago, which is a really long time ago, I know, there was a song recorded by Joan Osborne. The title of the song was “One of Us” Here are the lyrics of the beginning of the song:

If God had a name, what would it be? And would you call it to His face?

One of the really great things about being Christians is we know that God did become one of us. God’s name when became one of us is Jesus. As we heard in our first reading this morning, Jesus “is the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15). In other words, Jesus is God in the flesh. Like a lot of things we talk about in Church we have a name for Jesus, who is God, becoming one of us. Does anyone know the word we use to describe God becoming one of us? (Incarnation)

How do we know what Jesus was like? Where do we find this out? In the Scriptures, in the Bible, but particularly in that part of the Bible we call the Gospels. How many Gospels are there? (4) What are the names of the Gospels? (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John).

Today we read from the Gospel According to St Luke. In our Gospel this morning Jesus and His followers (followers of Jesus are called “disciples”) are asked by some of their fellow Jews why, instead of fasting and praying a lot, like followers of John the Baptist and a group of Jews called the Pharisees, they “eat drink” (Luke 5:33). The way Jesus answers their question tells us a little bit about what Jesus was like.

The Wineskins by MazTaz (aka Marianne (Maz) Gill-Harper)

How many of you have ever attended a wedding? Did you have fun at the wedding? Was there music and dancing and food, including cake, or did everyone sit around quietly not eating anything? Jesus tells those who ask that His disciples don’t fast like many other Jews because while the groom is present at the wedding everyone celebrates. So Jesus equates His becoming one of us with a wedding and likens Himself to the groom. The Church is Jesus’ bride. Marriage is very important in God’s plan. There is a wedding at the beginning of the Bible, in Genesis chapter 2, in which Adam and Eve are joined together. There is a wedding at the end of the Bible, in the Book of Revelation, which describes Jesus’ return at the end of time as a wedding.

By becoming one of us, God started something very new. This explains the other two answers Jesus gives. If you sew new fabric to old fabric, the garment you mend will become worse than it was before you tried to patch it because the new fabric sewn to the old, already shrunk and broken in, will make a bigger tear. Old wineskins, like boda bags that are still around today, once they are empty of wine, dry out and shrivel up. Once the skin has dried up, if new wine is poured into it, the skin bursts, spilling all the wine.

God becoming one of us in Jesus Christ only happened once in the whole history of the world. It is the most important thing that has ever happened in the whole world. Jesus’ becoming one of us changed everything. This reality of God becoming one of us “equals fresh clean cloth and new wine” (Michael Card, Mark: The Gospel of Passion 50). It’s important for us to understand that Jesus isn’t one of many, He is one of a kind. He is fully human, that is, like us in everything except that He never committed a single sin, even though He was tempted, like we are (Heb 4:15), which is why we can trust Jesus completely, and fully divine. As we prepare to receive Him in Holy Communion let's reflect that it is in communion that that we experience that the new wine Jesus came to give us is Himself.

"I'm lost without you"

Just as some complain every chance they get about contemporary Christian music, I tire of people who claim that God can't possibly be communicated in any new way, by any new medium, or meter, that aspects of contemporary culture, like the love ballad, can't be adapted and put in the service of the Gospel. But the history of the Church shows us something very different. Everything may not stand the test of time and be handed on for centuries or millennia (there are plenty of lost or disregarded forms) but that does not mean it has no value whatsoever. Maybe some things are meant to appeal only to people in a certain time and in a certain place. Is that so difficult to conceive? Of course, not everything is to everyone's liking, which is perfectly fine too.

I think simplicity is always fitting for prayer, worship, and meditation. Also, I like singing love songs to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, without whom I am lost and for whom I am desperate. So, Michael W Smith's "Breathe" is our Friday traditio:

Anticipating an Extraordinary Jubilee

The Holy Father, Pope Francis, has given us a wonderful gift to begin the month of September in anticipation of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, which will begin on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, 8 December 2015. This morning the Holy See released the letter written by the Pontiff to Archbishop Rino Fisichella, who serves as President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. In the letter, which I find to be an amazing statement of our divine and Catholic faith, the Holy Father describes in beautiful detail how this Jubilee can be entered into fully by all the faithful. Additionally, as is so characteristic of Papa Bergoglio, there are some astonishing surprises in his letter, but ones that are wholly consonant with our Catholic faith, thus showing how far-reaching is the Father’s infinite mercy.

First and foremost Pope Francis describes how all the faithful may obtain the Jubilee Indulgence. In his letter the Holy Father expresses his “wish that the Jubilee Indulgence may reach each one as a genuine experience of God’s mercy, which comes to meet each person in the Face of the Father who welcomes and forgives, forgetting the sin forgiven.” Indulgences are not a thing of past, but remain an important practice of Christian faith. Once again, I encourage everyone to read Bl Pope Paul VI’s Apostolic Constitution Indulgentiarum Doctrina.

Pilgrims to Rome for the Jubilee can obtain the Jubilee Indulgence by making a pilgrimage to one of the four Papal Basilicas and churches “traditionally identified as Jubilee Churches” each of which will have a Door of Mercy. Every Cathedral in each diocese will have a Holy Door to which one can make a pilgrimage. Only a brief visit, made as expression of one’s “deep desire for true conversion,” is requested. I expect miracles.

The Holy Father makes provision for those who are ill and elderly. In a deeply moving passage in his letter, Pope Francis makes it possible for prisoners to obtain the Jubilee Indulgence by making prison chapels sites on par with Papal Basilicas, Jubilee Churches, and Cathedrals.

In his letter Pope Francis allows all priests, during the Jubilee Year, to absolve women who have had abortions of that sin. Since having an abortion incurs latae sententiae excommunication, under normal circumstances, absolving this sin is reserved to the bishop. However, some bishops have permitted some of their priests to grant absolution to women for this sin, which very often a source of deep regret, leaving a scar on their souls.

Stating that the “Jubilee Year of Mercy excludes no one,” the Roman Pontiff, surprisingly, invoking his desire for full communion, grants priests of Fraternity of St Pius X the faculty to administer the Sacrament of Reconciliation licitly and validly during the Jubilee to those faithful who approach them for this sacrament.

Commenting on the letter in Great Britain’s Catholic Herald magazine, Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith rightly notes that the upcoming Jubilee provides all of us a great opportunity “to brush up on one’s Catholicism…brush up on your Purgatory, your Indulgences, your theology of the Church and of Grace, and your Canon Law.” But above all, with Fr Lucie-Smith, I urge you to “find out where your nearest church is where you can obtain the indulgence.” But first find out what is required, apart from the visit, to obtain the indulgence. Foremost among the conditions for obtaining an indulgence is making a good sacramental confession. A  good first start in preparing for the Jubilee would be reading this short letter.