Real Catholic Blog

Today, at his Angelus prayer, Pope Benedict XVI commented on today’s Epistle reading at Mass, in First Corinthians, where Saint Paul illustrates the Church as one body with many parts, and Christ as its head. It is through “the sacraments, the Word of God, charisms and ministries that the Church continues the presence of the Risen Lord in history.” Monday marks the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

Pope Benedict reiterates the imporance of the sacraments, The Word of God and ministries in continuing the presence of the Lord in the current age.

The head of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C., Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl, is known for his behind the scenes pragmatism. He is not one for the limelight. But recently, in light of the D.C. City Council’s aggressive moves toward legalizing same-sex marriage, the Archbishop has publicly upped the ante as reported in today’s Washington Post.

His stand for the Word of God has caused some discomfort in the District’s Catholic community. Those upset are in two camps: Those who call themselves Catholic but don’t subscribe to the Church’s teachings and those who just can’t believe an American bishop won’t pull the liberal go-along line. After all, American bishops are supposed to support liberal social justice measures but stay quiet on abortion and marriage. They are shocked!

Of course, as written here before, the U.S. Bishops, unfortunately, are a bit naive. They play to the liberal social justice crowd and can’t understand why those types turn on them when they stand up for Biblical teachings. But, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, and now the liberals are upset that Archbishop Wuerl has told D.C. that if it legalizes same-sex marriage, Catholic Charities will put the breaks on its services in the city.

Unfortunately, the city council did vote 11-2 today to legalize homosexual marriage (see Post again, here). It is the first of two votes needed, but final passage and Mayor Adrian Fenty’s signature appear all but guaranteed.

There is some good news, however, in the culture war, according to the Washington Times. After Maine voters rejected homosexual marriage during last month’s elections, the New Jersey and New York legislatures have slowed down their marches to destroy the meaning of marriage.

Today is All Saints Day. Since it falls on a Sunday, it is not a Holy Day of Obligation. But All Saints Day has always been one of my favorite days in the Church. Who can’t be moved and inspired with the chanting and singing of the Litany of the Saints? How beautiful!

Of course, in school we always had All Saints Day off — a nice fall break during a beautiful time of year, punctuated rudely by the first (gruelling) day of soccer practice. Still, as we were reminded constantly by the Benedictines (and the lay faculty, too) we were given days off to remember the Holy Day long after we graduated, so as to observe it always. It worked.

This is a great day to commit yourself to studying a saint or saints. Perhaps your patron saint. There are several saints to whom I constantly ask for intercession, and I observe Mass each year on their feast days. It truly brings you closer to God through learning and joining yourself to the lives of these role models. They provide inspiration. They seek help for you and your community in general. If you have a cause, find the saint that patrons it and learn about him or her, and pray for his or her intercessions.

There are many ways to honor saints, through which you draw nearer the Lord. The more you do, the more you will learn about the Church and its teachings, and the more the revelation of the Word of God will engulf you and bless you.

The Vatican’s Secretary of the Congregation for the Clergy, Archbishop Mauro Piacenza, wrote a beautiful, inspiring piece this week in L’Osservatore Romano warning priests of the dangers of self-interpretation and subjective views of the Gospel, stating, “No priest proclaims himself or his own ideas, nor his personal or subjective interpretations of the one and eternal Gospel”  (see CatholicNewsAgency.com) 

He emphasized the importance and seriousness of the priest’s role in proclaiming the Gospel. Because the Gospel is the undeniable Word of God, it must be preached with dignity and wisdom, with no room for personal interpretation, especially such that rationalizes passing societal fancies. Archbishop Piacenza explained that priests must find this dignity . . .

. . . from daily intimacy with Him, from lectio divina, as part of the great tradition of the fathers, from deep meditation that gradually transforms each priest into a “living Gospel.”

We know well that the “Gospel is not only words, Christ himself is the Gospel” and we are called to be conformed unto Him, through the exercise of the ministry of proclamation as well.

He also addressed preaching itself, reminding priests that the only absolute is God, and human opinion cannot be substituted for Him:

Wise preaching always considers first the real demands of those who receive it, never imposing arbitrary and insufficient interpretations, but rather always preferring the one true thing that is necessary: the real encounter with God of those entrusted to our care.

. . . always (be) aware of the work of God in each proclamation: it is He who prepares the hearts, it is He who encounters men, it is He who brings forth the flowers of conversion and ripens the fruit of charity.

Archbishop Piacenza did acknowledge one form of relativism that priests should undertake: To “be totally (related) to God.” The Lord, he wrote, ”loves those who give with joy and never leaves His servant alone.”

In this Year of the Priest, I’m sure His Excellency’s words were especially appreciated by his brother priests.