Almighty God and Father of light,
a child is born for us and a son is given to us.
Your eternal Word leaped down from heaven
in the silent watches of the night,
and now your Church is filled with wonder
at the nearness of her God.
Open our hearts to receive his life
and increase ouf vision with the rising of dawn,
that our lives may be filled with his glory and his peace,
who lives and reigns for ever and ever.
From Liturgy of the Hours, Morning Prayer
Christmas
Conditor Alme Siderum — Creator of the Stars at Night — is a 7th century hymn commonly sung during Evening Prayer (Vespers). Redemption comes not only for humanity but all creation. In this rendition, both the Latin and English words are sung.
Image: Supernovae, NASA, public domain
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When does getting a job and going to work become a question of “joining the lemmings going over the cliff?” The question arises one night over dinner. A young man who has an independent source of income finds he has no real reason to get out of bed in the morning. He has a new skill and set of training, but he finds himself hesitant to put himself into a situation that would require him to charge for services he would otherwise offer at no charge. He questions whether charging for services means he is joining the lemmings. Yet he feels an urgent need to have recognizable work.
Another person at the table finds such language distressing. This person does not have the luxury of choosing whether to go to work or not and certainly does not feel like a lemming!
The critical question, it seems, regards the value and importance of work. Work in and of itself is neutral. What we do each day to fulfill our responsibilities may be called work. Things we do for relaxation we often call play, despite the fact that some forms of relaxation take more physical and psychic effort than “work.”
Given that both work and play may take significant time and effort on a daily basis, how do we value each? Most commonly, we think of work in negative terms and play in positive ones. When something is hard, we even say, “That’s why we call it work!”
Work is a participation in the divine endeavour, bringing new energies into focus to carry out an ongoing development, whether of something old or new. As such, work can be a positive experience — tiring, yes; repetitive, perhaps; boring, sometimes — yet ultimately of value.
When does work become the province of “lemmings?” Work becomes something negative when it reduces or threatens the human dignity of the person who engages in it. It also becomes lemming-like when performed solely or largely for less-than-human reasons, such as the proverbial “keeping-up-with-the-Joneses.” If the only reason a person has for doing a job he or she hates is in order to buy a mansion, sports car, or other luxury item, then the value of that work is of lemming quality. If, on the other hand, the work keeps a roof over the head of the individual and/or family and food on the table, that work is valuable and not to be disparged.
In our daily lives, as we seek to recognize the presence of God in what we do, whether work or play, we are called to evaluate our actions regularly in terms of how they align with God’s plan for us and for this wonderful world in which we live. Work aligned with God’s activity is not the province of human “lemmings” but rather the path to human fulfillment.
Note: The notion that lemmings in nature have a propensity to go “over the cliff” in a mass suicidal wave is not actually correct. Sometimes when the population becomes too dense, they migrate to other areas. Bodies of water that must be crossed may prove too wide for some of them and some will drown. This may be the source of the idea that lemmings deliberately go over the cliff. In fact, lemmings too live according to divine plan, praising God through their daily lives by being lemmings!
Image from Wikipedia Commons – public domain
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En su Audiencia General de Miércoles el 13 de mayo, el Papa Francisco dio un corto mensaje sobre tres palabras claves para asegurar la alegría y el bienestar de la familia. Permiso, gracias, y perdón son las palabras esenciales para mantener saludables las relaciones familiares.
El Santo Papa dijo que algunas veces en nuestra cultura esas expresiones son consideradas como señales de debilidad en vez de ser una declaración de nuestro respeto y cariño en nuestras relaciones familiares. Subrayó la necesidad del respeto por la dignidad de nuestros esposos, hijos, y otros miembros de la familia como base de vivir nuestra fe. Sin esta fundación básica de respeto y cariño, esas relaciones importantes se pueden romper, hacienda daño a todos.
Pedir permiso es esencial para afirmar a otros y resulta en ligas más íntimas y fuertes. Mostrar nuestra gratitud es más que una formalidad social. Es un reconocimiento y validación de nuestros queridos y es una expresión de nuestra estimación de su amor. Es más, así demostramos nuestra comprensión de la importancia de nuestros familiares y su amor en nuestras vidas. La palabra más difícil, según el Santo Papa, es perdón. Conflictos y desacuerdos, y aún pleitos, son parte de cualquiera relación honesta. El Papa Francisco refiere también a incidentes más serios, cuando “vuelan los platos”. Lo más importante es pedir perdón. Papa Francisco nos aconseja hacer las paces antes del fin del día. A veces, eso no es posible, porque necesitamos más tiempo para calmarnos. Sobre todo Papa Francisco nos aconseja hacer las paces lo más pronto posible para demostrar que la fuerza de nuestro amor es más grande que cualquier desacuerdo o frustración.
Una clarificación en cuanto a las diferencias culturales puede ser útil aquí. En culturas Latinas generalmente se alivia el estrés por exteriorizarlo. Generalmente la molestia o irritación no es internalizada. La voces claman y los brazos gestionan con vigor y todo se puede parecer excesivo según el perspectivo de los de habla inglesa del norte del Atlántico. En muchas culturas de habla inglesa la expresión del estrés es más calmada. Los sentimientos no son menos intensos. A veces son más intensos por ser internalizados. Esta forma cultural de respuesta al conflicto requiere una distinta respuesta más tranquila. Las tres palabras todavía se aplican, pero necesitamos apreciar cómo nuestras familias perciben y manejan el conflicto.
El enojo, la disensión, y la desilusión pueden ser oportunidades para reconocer y resolver conflictos más profundos. La asistencia profesional de un consejero capacitado puede ayudarnos a evitar minando o rompiendo los vínculos de amor y cariño. La cortesía y el respeto son importantes en nuestra plática, pero además tienen que ser realizados en nuestros hechos y actitudes. Como ha dicho San Ignacio de Loyola << El amor se manifiesta en hechos más que palabras.>> Estas tres palabras son hechas muy importantes. Son más que palabras y pueden abrir la puerta a una mejor relación, aceptación mutua, y una respuesta amante a los retos fundamentales de estar feliz y realizar un hogar feliz.
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From the earliest days of Christianity, before Jesus’ followers were even known as Christians, men and women have been called upon to testify to what they have seen and experienced of God’s great love for all of us as it shines forth in the life, death and resurrection of Our Lord. We call those who witness with the total gift of their lives martyrs.
Today is no different. The martyrs of Libya and those who are dying in other countries around the world because they are Christians are a reminder that love and faith are risky. We pray for those who face this risk, that they may testify with courage and know the Father’s love in their hour of trial. And we pray that they will remember us when they meet our Lord.
As members of the wider community of faith, we may also feel called to make some offering of deeper support to the families of these martyrs. A program called Coptic Orphans works with poor families in Egypt.
Artist Tony Rezk, whose art is featured above, offers prints of his digital icons. A portion of the sale of the icon of the 21 Martyrs will go to support needy Christian families in Egypt.
Another group that is helping needy Christian families is Gather the Remnants.
The Vatican’s agency for humanitarian and pastoral support, Catholic Near East Welfare Association (CNEWA) is also active in supporting Christian communities in this time of need.
Help will certainly be needed as this campaign against Christians in countries around the world continues.
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Papa Francisco, en su homilía para la Vigilia Pascual, reflexionó sobre la experiencia de los primeros discípulos y discípulas del Señor, en esa noche de dolor y de temor antes de la resurrección . Notó que el Señor no duerme, sino «vela el guardián de su pueblo» (Sal 121,4) y lo salva de la esclavitud, abriendo el camino a la libertad. Así como velaba y cuidaba a su pueblo Israel en Egipto, velaba e hizo «pasar a Jesús a través del abismo de la muerte y de los infiernos.»
Los discípulos se quedaron en el Cenáculo, el salón en donde celebraron con Jesús la Ultima Cena, cuando nació el alba, pero las discípulas salieron con sus ungüentos para ungir al cuerpo de su amigo fallecido. Se preocuparon por el detalle de la piedra, pero sin embargo salieron para enfrentarlo y atender a su amigo.
En su acción de salir de nuevo al mundo y entrar en su dolor, entraron en el misterio del poder y amor del Señor, según el Papa. La tumba estaba abierta. ¡Su amigo se había resucitado! Las discípulas habían «entrado en el misterio.» (1Re 19,12) en el cual se puede «escuchar el silencio y sentir el susurro de ese hilo de silencio sonoro en el que Dios nos habla.»
Nuestro Señor nos llama a todos a salir de lo que nos encierre, del miedo, de la incertidumbre, para enfrentar los temores, los problemas, los interrogantes y «entrar en el misterio … más allá de las cómodas certezas …»
Las mujeres discípulas de Jesús, junto con su Madre, pasaban la noche velando. Y luego, en la mañana, «salieron y encontraron la tumba abierta … Velaron, salieron y entraron en el misterio.»
Papa Francisco nos invita a «velar con Dios y con María, nuestra Madre, para entrar en el misterio que nos hace pasar de la muerte a la vida.»
La homilía completa y la vigilia pueden verse en el video adjunto. (No hay sonido por los primeros 3½ minutos, ¡espere con paciencia!)
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En el 13 de marzo, el segundo aniversario de su elección, el Papa Francisco anunció la convocación de un Jubileo extraordinario con oraciones y otras actividades especiales para celebrar la misericordia divina. El Papa lo proclamó en su homilía durante una celebración penitencial. La misericordia divina es una de los temas claves de la enseñanza y ministerio pastoral del Santo Padre. El año se iniciará en la solemnidad de la Inmaculada Concepción (el 8 de diciembre de 2015) y concluirá con la solemnidad de Nuestro Señor Jesucristo, Rey del Universo (el 20 de noviembre de 2016). El Jubileo de la Misericordia tendrá lugar en el quincuagésimo aniversario de la clausura del Concilio Vaticano II. Se destaca el año de jubileo con ceremonias y liturgias especiales. Puesto que este jubileo se llevará a cabo afuera de la secuencia regular de 25 o 50 años, se refiere a este como un Año Santo Extraordinario.
El Santo Papa afirmó:
Queridos hermanos y hermanas, con frecuencia he pensado en cómo la Iglesia podría hacer clara su misión de ser testigo a la misericordia. Es un viaje que comienza con una conversión espiritual. Por eso, he decidido convocar un Jubileo extraordinario que tenga en el centro la misericordia de Dios. Será un Año Santo de la Misericordia. Lo queremos vivir a la luz de la palabra del Señor: “Sean misericordiosos como el Padre”. (Lc 6:36)
La tradición de años de jubileo se inició con el Papa Bonifacio VIII y desde el año 1475, el jubileo ordinario comenzó a espaciarse al ritmo de cada 25 años. El concepto del Año Santo se modela en el año de jubileo del los antiguos hebreos en el cual los campos quedaban sin plantarse, los esclavos fueron liberados, y las deudas fueron perdonadas. El año de jubileo programado en el Libro de Levítico se llevaba a cabo cada 50 años.
La puerta de Jubileo de la Basílica de San Pedro será abierta al comenzar el Año Santo como símbolo del regreso de los penitentes a la fe. Además, se está planeando una celebración especial en 2016 para el Domingo de la Misericordia Divina, el domingo siguiente de la Pascua.
Haga clic para escuchar al anuncio del Papa en Radio Vaticano.
Read MoreOn March 13, the second anniversary of his papacy, Pope Francis announced a special year of prayer and other special activities to celebrate God’s unlimited mercy. The announcement was made as part of the Pope’s homily while he was presiding over a Lenten penance service. Divine mercy is one of the Pope’s major themes in his preaching and pastoral activity. The year will officially begin on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8, 2015) and end on the Feast of Christ the King (November 20, 2016). The Holy Year of Mercy also marks the 50th anniversary of the close of the Second Vatican Council. It will be marked by special ceremonies and liturgies. Since this Holy Year is outside the traditional 25 or 50 year interval for regular Holy Years it is called an Extraordinary Holy Year.
The Pope declared:
Dear brothers and sisters, I have often thought about how the Church might make clear its mission of being a witness to mercy. It is a journey that begins with a spiritual conversion. For this reason, I have decided to call an extraordinary Jubilee that is to have the mercy of God at its center. It shall be a Holy Year of Mercy. We want to live this Year in the light of the Lord’s words: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. (cf. Lk 6:36)”
Jubilee years began in 1300 with Pope Boniface VIII and are traditionally held every 25 years. The concept of the Holy Year is modeled on the Old Testament Jubilee Year in which the fields rested, slaves were freed, and debts were forgiven. The Jubilee Year specified in Leviticas was to be held every 50 years.
Traditionally, the Jubilee door of St. Peter’s Basilica is opened at the beginning of Holy Years to symbolize the return of penitents to the faith. Additionally, special plans are being made for the celebration in 2016 of Divine Mercy Sunday, the first Sunday after Easter.
See a video of the announcement here.
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A fundamental theme of Pope Francis’ papacy has been the Church’s call to missionary activity. This activity is not simply the call of a few who will travel to distant lands. It is the call of every Christian: the call to participate in evangelization. Yet in our communities,workplaces, and homes, we often feel uncomfortable in this role, whether because the Christian message and lifestyle are counter-cultural or because we don’t really know or understand what we believe, why we believe it, or why we do what we do.
The Alpha Course is a relatively new program that is focused on reaching out to those who have never really heard the Gospel or experienced life as Christians. One of the side-effects of the program, however, is to re-vitalize parish life as new people are touched by the love of the Risen Christ and enter the community of faith. Long-time members of Christian communities, including Roman Catholics, also experience a revitalization of their faith as they see it anew through the eyes of the newcomers.
Fr. Riccardo, pastor of Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Plymouth, Michigan and a regular contributor on Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), talks about the fact that we as Catholics tend to focus on sacramentalizing: introducing our parishioners to the sacraments and helping them grow in their sacramental life. According to Fr. Riccardo, if we teach the people about the faith and the sacraments without introducing them to the person of Christ, it is like throwing seeds on concrete. Nothing will grow. Fr. Riccardo gives a comprehensive presentation of the Alpha Course, a program for evangelization, in a series of YouTube podcasts.
The Alpha Course has a simple method. People gather for a meal and a discussion, not just in a church setting but wherever people gather. The attendees are primarily people who are currently outside the Church. Over a ten week period the participants come to an experience of the Risen Christ as their loving friend and savior.
The Alpha Course began in a Church of England parish in London and is now widely used by many denominations. It is opening doors to ecumenical cooperation and discussion about the centrality of Christ in our faith. Over 1 million Catholics in Canada have been through the course. Fr. Rainero Cantalamessa, preacher to the papal household, Cardinal Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, and other Catholic leaders have praised the Alpha Course.
Rev. Mr. Steve Mitchell, a deacon of the Archdiocese of Detroit, is the national director for Alpha USA. According to Deacon Mitchell’s statement on the AlphaUSA.org website “Alpha provides a safe, non-threatening environment where no question is too dumb and no perception is criticized. Barriers are broken down as we share a meal together and build relationships without regard to what someone believes.”
Alpha’s video includes examples from Catholic parishes around the world.
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Virtues fighting Vices 14th Century window
Fr. Bryan Massingale, in his workshop at the 2015 Los Angeles Religious Education Congress, “Virtues for Adult Christians”, explains that Christian morality is about decisions we make that are motivated by faith in Christ. They are a response to God’s prior gift of love and expressed in our choices and decisions about what we do and the kind of person we are.
Morality, like much of human experience, is different for children than for adults. Childhood is a time of formation and growth. Adulthood is a time of internalization of what has been learned and growth in wisdom. For children, morality is something that comes from the outside, tends to be phrased more negatively (“you may not…”), is based on rules and obedience, and is reinforced by fear or rewards. For adults, morality comes from within the person. It is a positive statement of who I am. Based on ideals and goals, it is virtue-centered. Virtues in this sense are good habits — attitudes and ways of being/acting that are positive responses to divine love. Adult morality is inspirational: becoming the best person I can be, the one God calls me to be.
Both approaches to morality are appropriate and Catholic. Children need rules and boundaries in order to learn and grow safely and securely. But in late adolescence and early adulthood, they need to grow and make what they have learned a positive part of who they are. Humans need to grow up morally as well as physically, because most of what we experience in our adult lives does not fit easily into the system of rules we learned as children. As Fr. Massingale noted, life is sloppy, complex, messy, and fascinating. Rules are for perfect worlds: neat and precise! We expect more than rules can deliver and we want to be safe, but that’s not what adult life is about. Pope Francis tells us in The Joy of the Gospel (#39) that morality is more than rules and self-denial. It’s a response to the God of love.
Traditional lists of virtues are divided into two groups: Theological Virtues (Faith, Hope, Love) and Cardinal Virtues (Prudence, Temperance, Fortitude, Justice). The Cardinal virtues are sometimes known as “hinge” virtues because others flow from them.
In contrast to the virtues, we also have lists of vices. Interestingly, the vices come in two versions: an excess or a lack of that quality that makes a virtue the good quality that it is. For example the vice that is opposite to Hope may be seen as Despair (too little hope) or as Arrogance (too much misplaced confidence).
Fr. Massingale suggests that for today’s adult Christians, a list of some contemporary virtues should include: Courage, Compassion, Self-Love, Forgiveness, and Wisdom. If these are missing, our lives get all messed up.
His presentation was recorded and is well worth taking the time to enjoy. (The video gets started slowly. Move the cursor on the bar to 21.15 for the beginning!)
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The long-awaited Synod has begun. Bishops, priests, nuns, and lay persons from around the world have gathered in Rome to pray, listen, and reflect on where the Holy Spirit is leading us as a community in this new era. We are invited to join them in prayer:
