Our Queen Mother

Stained glass window, The Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Denver, Colorado
(c) 2012 On Being Roman Catholic in America

As we enter into the month of May, we have an opportunity to contemplate—and celebrate—the many mysteries of Mary, Mother of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and Queen of Heaven.   Mary, under the title of the Immaculate Conception, is the patroness of the United States of America.   Maria, ora pro nobis.

Good Company



Most Reverend Daniel Jenkey, Bishop of Peoria
(click picture for text of homily)

We must marvel--too often these days, it seems!--how the Acts of the Apostles, chapters from so long ago, eloquently speak to our modern times. Peter and John, then, and Daniel, now, will not be silenced. (Acts 4:18-20.)

“The days in which we live now require heroic Catholicism, not casual Catholicism.”

(Bishop Daniel Jenkey, Peoria) 

God or Caesar

Rembrandt:  Stoning of St. Stephen
(source:  http://www.artbible.info/art/large/682.html )

As a Roman Catholic in America, where do you stand?   Notre Dame’s faculty cabal apparently missed the original lecture: “Render unto Caesar . . .” (Mark 12:17.)    Cf. Discourse of first martyr, Saint Stephen (Acts 7) 

Lessons from the Garden

(Source:  NASA photo; Visible Earth)

On Earth Day, April 22, 2012, we might, for a moment, stand back and look at the earth from a distant perspective and consider the relationship between man and creation. To the extent that we exercise dominion as honest stewards of our environment, we recognize, at last, a renewed longing for unity between man and the Garden itself. In a profound sense, this natural longing for unity is a reflection of our hope for peace on earth. And we recognize, too, that the source of this longing for unity is our ultimate desire to be one with the Creator, the “I AM,” being outside of man and creation, who is Lord over all.

"If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation. The quest for peace by people of good will surely would become easier if all acknowledge the indivisible relationship between God, human beings and the whole of creation. In the light of divine Revelation and in fidelity to the Church's Tradition, Christians have their own contribution to make. They contemplate the cosmos and its marvels in light of the creative work of the Father and the redemptive work of Christ, who by his death and resurrection has reconciled with God "all things, whether on earth or in heaven" (Col 1:20). Christ, crucified and risen, has bestowed his Spirit of holiness upon mankind, to guide the course of history in anticipation of that day when, with the glorious return of the Savior, there will be "new heavens and a new earth" (2 Pet 3:13), in which justice and peace will dwell forever.”

 (source: Message, World Day of Peace, January 1, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI)

"The Church has a responsibility towards creation and she must assert this responsibility in the public sphere. In so doing, she must defend not only earth, water and air as gifts of creation that belong to everyone. She must above all protect mankind from self-destruction. There is need for what might be called a human ecology, correctly understood. The deterioration of nature is in fact closely connected to the culture that shapes human coexistence: when “human ecology” is respected within society, environmental ecology also benefits. Just as human virtues are interrelated, such that the weakening of one places others at risk, so the ecological system is based on respect for a plan that affects both the health of society and its good relationship with nature." 

          (source: Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, June 29, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI)

Friday "Pop Quiz"

Looking at the years before the enactment of the Bill of Rights and the First Amendment (guaranteeing free exercise of religion), which of today’s 50 states can be identified with the following statement:   

“Discriminatory laws, including the loss of political rights, were enacted against those who refused to conform. Catholic chapels were closed and Catholics were restricted to practicing their faith in their homes.”

(a) Alaska
(b) Maryland
(c) New York
(d) California

 The answer is here.

Signs

Thomas asks, Lord, let me feel the wounds, that I may believe.  Blessed are those that believe without proof.

Remembrance

We join in solidarity with the faithful who remember the Holocaust, which began with discrimination on account of faith and the denial of religious liberty.

"In this place of solemn remembrance, I fervently pray that our sorrow for the tragedy which the Jewish people suffered in the twentieth century will lead to a new relationship between Christians and Jews. Let us build a new future in which there will be no more anti-Jewish feeling among Christians or anti-Christian feeling among Jews, but rather the mutual respect required of those who adore the one Creator and Lord, and look to Abraham as our common father in faith."

SPEECH OF JOHN PAUL II, VISIT TO THE YAD VASHEM MUSEUM, March 23, 2000

Fire Upon the Earth



Archbishop Charles J. Chaput (Source: Catholic News Agency photo)

Is modern American culture hostile to religious values?   In a recent Catholic News Agency article, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput outlines the case in "A Heart on Fire":

“Religion is under pressure in the public square because traditional religious faith, and the morality that flows from it, are obstacles to a very different and much more aggressively secular model of American life.” 

 Read more here.

June 8

"On June 8, people of faith will hit the streets again to demand that all our health care laws respect the role of religious faith in the public square."

Read more.

The Writing on the Wall

Art source:  USCCB

Religious liberty is not only about our ability to go to Mass on Sunday or pray the Rosary at home. It is about whether we can make our contribution to the common good of all Americans. Can we do the good works our faith calls us to do, without having to compromise that very same faith? Without religious liberty properly understood, all Americans suffer, deprived of the essential contribution in education, health care, feeding the hungry, civil rights, and social services that religious Americans make every day, both here at home and overseas. 

from, A Statement on Religious Liberty
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty 

Read more

The Big Lie

The "Big Lie" is that you cannot be forgiven.  I can't be forgiven.  Too much.  Too much time.  Too much sin.  I am not worthy. 

And that's the "Big Lie" because the Christ of Divine Mercy, Christ Crucified, has already given the ultimate sacrifice for our sins.  We are forgiven.

Agnus Dei!  who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.

It is fitting that we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday as the octave of Easter.  We are Didyimus, we are Mary Magdalene, we are Peter, we are Thomas, we are Saul of Tarsus!  We are forgiven!

Take the first step:  Forgive me Father, for I have sinned, it has been ___ years since my last confession . . .

Fortnight for Freedom

Stop HHS Mandate - San Francisco
(C) 2012 On Being Roman Catholic in America

On July 4, 2012, the fireworks in the night skies over America will have special meaning for those who participated in the Fortnight of Freedom. Find out more, here.

Christus Resurrexit



Christus resurrexit!  Resurrexit vere!

 
It is remarkable that Jesus Christ, risen, is Jesus Christ, yet wounded. To dumbfounded disciples, Jesus shows them His hands and His feet. (Luke 24:39-40)   Post resurrection, His hands and feet yet bear the imprints of His Cross. There are wounds to touch. (John 20:24-29)    In His demonstration, one sees physical proof for the confounded that Jesus Crucified is now and forever.  In the Holy Eucharist, Christ with us, we behold the eternal Lamb of God.  Christus Resurrexit.

Emmaus

As the story of Easter continues, we hear today about the sojourners on the road to Emmaus, who, eventually, recognize Christ in the breaking of the Bread. (Luke 24:13-35.)   As Catholics, we re-live the Emmaus experience in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: The Word of God broken for us, to feed us, in the Scriptures and in the Holy Eucharist. Emmaus remains, then and today, a place of faith.

Easter Greetings

(Source:  Franciscan Media)

Franciscan Media (formerly St. Anthony Messenger Press) encourages e-vangelization through various media, including “greeting cards”—an Easter greeting is just a click away.

From Out of the Shadow

(C) 2012 On Being Roman Catholic in America

From out of the shadow of the Cross, our Hope is revealed in the Risen Christ.   (1 Cor. 15:14)

Alleluia!

Alleluia!

Alleluia! Rejoice!
Alleluia! Re-call!

Christ's gift
to all!
Alleluia!
to you!
yeah you!
all you!
yeah, you all!
all you all, yeah!

Alleluia!

(C) 2012 On Being Roman Catholic in America (photo and lyric)

Where have they put Him?



(C) 2012 On Being Roman Catholic in America

“They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” (Jn. 20:2)

Good Friday

Sacrifice and Sacrament

The Eucharist is a sacrifice inasmuch as it is offered up, and a sacrament inasmuch as it is received.

One of the many gifts to us from Blessed John Paul the Great was his declaration of the Luminous Mysteries, an invitation, through Our Lady’s Most Holy Rosary, to contemplate the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. On Holy Thursday, observed today, the culmination of the Luminous Mysteries comes to mind. The last decade, the fifth mystery, is the Institution of the Eucharist: Christ present with us—Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. In the breaking of the Bread, we realize: The kingdom of God is at hand.

The Road Not Taken

Peter and Judas. Two broken responses to Christ’s invitation to follow Him, which is the Way of the Cross. When night fell, the sheep scattered, as predicted. Judas, with a kiss, turned away, irrevocably, it seems, choosing despair and death. Peter swore denials, but then wept bitterly. Tears of remorse. And perhaps, tears released in thanksgiving for what Peter at once may have recognized in Christ’s look from across the courtyard--forgiveness.  (Luke 22:61)

Staying on Message

On the HHS mandate for religious "employers," Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York and President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, keeps the focus, where it belongs, on religious liberty.  Read the interview with the Wall Street Journal.

Moral Authority

On questions of faith and morals, the Bishops need not be listened to, the argument goes, because, after the child abuse scandal (or name your example), the Church has lost its "moral authority."  Assuming, for sake of argument, a working definition of "moral authority" is "suasion," that is, the ability to influence or persuade another, how does the "no moral authority" argument fare?  Not well when you dig into it.  The underlying premise of the "no moral authority" argument assumes the applicability of the old adage, Do as I say, not as I do.  But the moral authority of the Church, the Truth it proclaims, draws its power not from human conduct or example but from the Word itself.   In denying the reality of the Truth, we take the stage as Pilate does this Holy Week:  "What is truth?" (Jn.18-38)

Trust

Therefore I have set my face like flint,
knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

 (Isaiah 50:7)