Sunday, November 30, 2008

First Sunday of Advent, 2008

This weekend, we enter a new liturgical year. In our readings this weekend, the Church reminds us of Jesus' injunction on us to be ready. We are called to be alert, to be working until the return of Jesus. Advent is more than the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas or a shopping season. It is a season of watchful waiting, of longing, of penance, prayer, and preparation for the return of Jesus Christ. Some will point out that Advent pays attention to three comings of Christ - Christ in History (born as a child, who lived, died and rose again), Christ in Mystery (in the Sacraments), and Christ in Majesty. These first weeks of Advent, we especially focus on this - to be watchful for His return. If He comes today, would we be ready? Would we have lived our lives in such a way that we would be recognize Him immediately, and that He would recognize us?

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

20 Tips For Making A Good Confession

Fr. Zuhlsdorf has 20 Tips For Making A Good Confession at his blog, What Does the Prayer Really Say. These are especially useful as we are about to begin Advent during which we prepare our hearts and minds.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Feast of Christ the King

Christ is the King of Heaven and Earth. When He returns, He will judge us but the standards of His Kingdom, not of ours. In the parable that we have been given this weekend, this judgement is placed in terms of our service to the least. Note that those condemned were not necessarily 'evil' according to the parable. Their response suggests that they served Jesus Christ when they recognized Him, but did not serve when they did not. Those that are commended served without seeing Christ. This is true character - they did the right thing without any hope of reward other than knowing it was the right thing to do.

At times, we may not be sure of our vocation, but we ought to be sure of the right thing - the works of mercy. We serve the Body of Christ hidden in those around us, nourished by the Body of Christ, the Eucharist.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Thirty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time

This weekend, we hear the Parable of the Talents. The servants are called before the Master who is to leave for a time. He entrusts to them his wealth, to one five talents, to another two talents, and to the third one talent. He does not tell them what to do with it - it must have been simply assumed that they were to put it to use. The first two doubled the amount, but the third in fear buried it. The servants are asked what they did with the talent they were given. The one who only made two was not critiqued for not making five - he did the best he could! The poor fool who buried it was condemned for not even trying. He knew the Master's wish, and went directly against it because of fear. One can get the sense that had he tried and lost it all, he would have not been as harshly treated. The talent is taken away, the man is condemned, and the talent is given to the one who had earned five.

This parable reminds us that what we have is God's gift to us, entrusted to us to be shared with others. We must use the gifts, we cannot bury them or hide them in fear. By using them, we may find them increased, and by not using them, we will lose them. We will be held responsible for doing our best with what we have been given.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Dedication of The Basilica of Saint John Lateran

This Sunday, we celebrate the dedication of the Cathedral of Rome, St. John Lateran. It is the Pope's cathedral as Bishop of Rome. That this dedication is celebrated even on Sundays reminds us of the universality of the Church.

In our Gospel for this weekend, we hear of Jesus cleansing the Temple, which is early in Jesus' ministry recorded in John's Gospel. He tells them to destroy the temple and He will raise it up again. They hear it as the Temple - the center of the religious activity of the Jewish people. That temple was in the process of restoration of 46 years, and they cried foul. John redacts it for us: He was speaking of His Body. Temples are the places of encounter with God. Jesus is that place of encounter with God the Father, in the person of God the Son. Destroy that Temple, and it will be raised.

In the Second Reading form 1 Corinthians, Paul tells us that we are the Temple of God, too. We are the Body of Christ. We can hear echoes from Paul's conversion from being a persecutor of the Church to hearing Christ asking why he [Paul] is persecuting Him. We are built to the building of God. Some of us are called to build, too, on that same foundation of Jesus Christ. We build, so that we can be for others a place where they can encounter God because we strive to live with Christ.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Thoughts of the Election

I am writing the following as an individual, and is not an endorsement or rejection of any party or politician.

I am truly disappointed with many in the main stream media. So many are suggesting that those who voted against President-elect Obama are either racist or uninformed. He could not (or would not because it was not politically expedient) say when life began and was afforded rights. He refused to vote for a law that would have required medical care to those born alive in the process of abortion - the difference is that the woman wanted an abortion, not a baby. He supports of abortion on demand and the Freedom of Choice Act enshrining it as a right. He promised to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. He supports federal funding for fetal stem cell research. Because I am an informed Catholic, he removed himself from my support and vote for him as a candidate. It was not the color of his skin that I considered - it was the content of his character. I imagine that there was a fraction of those who did not vote for him primarily because of his ancestry, the same as I would be safe to assume some voted for him simply because of it - both are equally wrong! Dr. Martin Luther King said it best - when it is what is within that matters, not what is only skin deep.

This election was disappointing on the part of the pro-life cause. Measures aimed at limiting abortions, defining the start of human life (and rights) failed, while measures to allow embryonic research and assisted suicide passed. We by-and-large elected a pro-abortion slate into federal offices. The pro-abortion battle will not and cannot win based on logic and civil discourse, so now the politicians will force it upon us.

I 'predict' that under the new administration, access to abortion will be enshrined as a 'right', the limitations of abortion (conscience clauses, limiting federal funding, waiting periods, parental notifications, and partial birth abortion bans; so many gained only in these last years) will be removed. Abortionists and abortion mills will be allowed to relax safety and reporting regulations. Overall, we will see a declining number of reported abortions; it will be seen as a drop in abortions though they will be woefully underreported. The drop will be credited to some expensive and ultimately ineffective program, just as the 'rise' of abortion rates these last 8 years were blamed on the pro-life policies being failures, but not because of the mandatory reporting laws!

We must not be deceived - even if something is legal, it is not automatically moral. Abortion, and support of abortion, is always wrong. Life does begin at conception - it is a scientific fact in addition to being affirmed by the long teaching of the Catholic Church. The pro-life movement will have an uphill battle again, because we grew complacent.

These next years, we have a task to remind our politicians in all parties of the dignity of human life. We need not resign to the fact that abortion is here to stay, anymore than those before us gave up the cause of civil rights, the recognition of women's rights to vote, and the end of slavery. May God bless us with strength to defend the defenseless, and that He would bless our politicians and fellow citizens with the truth that life begins at conception, and that every life is precious in God's eyes.

That being written, we pray for President-Elect Obama. May he see the dignity of life from conception to natural death, and unite the nation for the good of all, not just the born (and wanted).

Monday, November 3, 2008

Prayer for Election Day

Rocco Palmo at Whispers in the Loggia links to a great prayer for this election day from the Concord Pastor. Hopefully, you will go to vote. Hopefully, this prayer will inspire you to vote, and to vote for life, and challenge our leaders to work for the poor and needy!

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Feast of All Souls

The feast of All Souls gives us the opportunity to stop and remember those who have died who have not yet been entered into their heavenly rest, but in the fullness of time will - those in purgatory. Purgatory is a state of purification where the soul of those who have died without coming to the full love of Christ are purged from their earthly attachments. Prayers will not help those who, in their sins, rejected God and chose an eternity separated from Him (in Hell), and the prayers are not needed for those who, because of their faith and fullness of Love, have already been admitted to heaven as Saints. But the souls in purgatory are the ones for whom we can, and must, pray. It is a penitent prayer, a prayer of repentance on behalf of those who are there. Even the color specified for use at Mass (violet or black, if available) is one of prayer and penance. While there is a sense of joy, it is assumed, because they know that they are bound for heaven, there is the pain of letting go of their disordered attachments. We pray for them, that they may enter that purification and that we can help express the love of God with our prayers.

For us who are alive, we need to remember that Purgatory is not a goal - only heaven ought to be. We can be come to holiness here in this life, to become living saints. We pray for the grace of conversion in our lives, that we may find freedom from all that is not of God. May we be the saints that God not only has created us to be, but given us the grace to be!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Of all the commandments of the Old Testament, the commandment to love God and our neighbor is the greatest, and also the most difficult. Love is a decision, a choice to put someone else's needs first. Love, mercy, and justice are all on the spectrum of right actions, with love being the highest. With the love of God, we respond to His love which moves us first. That love calls us to act in love with His other creatures.

Love is a choice, and it is a part of our vocation. All of us are commanded to love, but how? Is it as a spouse, meeting the needs of the other and a family? Is it as a priest who loves his parishioners and leads them in love? Is it as a religious man or woman who spends his or her life in prayer out of love for the world? We are all called to love, and in Love, let us serve Him and each other!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's, but to God what is God's? With these words, Jesus evades the trap that the Herodians and Pharisees try to lay for him. In doing so, Jesus calls them on their hypocrisy. They are opposite sides of the political spectrum, the first sign of trap, and the unsolicited compliments are another sign. They ask about the legality (not the politics but the morality) of paying taxes. The Roman empire required this tax of all subjects. The Pharisees saw that the Roman taxes were not legally obligated, though they most likely paid them, and the Herodians of course supported the taxes. If Jesus said no, the Herodians could have reported Him as a revolutionary. If Jesus said yes, He could have been accused of supporting the Roman regime inciting the people who hated the Roman rule. There is another level, here, too. Jesus invites them to show the coin that is used. The fact that they were able to produce the coin is a sign that they were asking a mute question. "Whose image is that..." The image of Tiberius Caesar was against Jewish sensibilities - it was a graven image of a human being, and as such would have been unlawful. Jesus continues "... and whose inscription?" The inscription would have read translated of course, "Tiberius Caesar, Son of Divine Augustus, Son of Augustus", and the back would have read "Pontificus maximus" - The High Priest. This would have been utter heresy - Tiberius' father Augustus proclaimed himself a god, and Tiberius called himself the son of a god, whose high priest he was. The onlookers answer that it is Caesar, and Jesus gives them the answer. In doing so, he is telling them to give to Caesar only what is duly his - the tax. But the glory, praise, honor, and worship belongs to God alone. Whose image, after all, is Tiberius himself in - it is the Image of God. He is not divine or the son of God. But Jesus Christ is, and He deserves the praise and honor due to such an truly August One (the quality, not the month).

Following our vocations, we give to God what is His. When we find the true balance in our vocation we find the balance of living our life for God, while living in the world (in, not of). We also take a more proper role in civic activities as God has called us as individuals.

Sunday, October 12, 2008

Twenty-Eighth Sunday of Ordinary Time

In the Gospel this weekend, we hear of the King who throws a wedding feast for his son, but those invited will not come. The reasons: Fields and business. Not a very good excuse, ultimately, and that is exactly the point. They simply reject the invitation. Some went so far as to kill the messengers. Yet the cattle are slaughtered and the feast must go on.

We are called to the feast that the Lamb of God has prepared for us. All we have to do is accept. But if we are honest, we reject the invitation, and sometimes 'kill the messenger' ourselves. The Father calls those who will respond, the good and the bad alike.

Matthew's parable adds a curious detail, though, about these who do accept. There is one man who is not dressed in a wedding garment. Perhaps he was dressed in his work clothes, still with evidence of his occupation. He was not prepared, but simply showed up. This is the key, I believe. It is not enough to hear and respond to the invitation, but to prepare our hearts for the feast.

So what is a prepared heart? It is a heart that knows God's love, and in turn beats with love with Christ as our Lord and Savior. It is a heart that knows the truth, and rejoices in it. It is a heart that has been transformed by the Sacraments, especially of Baptism, Reconciliation, and Eucharist. It is a heart not moved with the whims of the world or the emotion, but by the movement of the Holy Spirit. May we all be dressed with the proper heart, converted to Christ, celebrating the wedding of the King's Son with His bride, the Church!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus, in this parable of the vineyard, tells that the builder builds it and leaves it in charge of renters so that he can receive the fruits at their proper time. The renters had other ideas, though. They chose to ignore the owner. They became murderous, and in their twisted logic thought that if they kill the messengers and the owner's son, they would inherit the vineyard.

God is the owner, and we are the renters. Unlike the builder of a vineyard who plants for his own sake, God plants the world for the sake of love. God has no 'need' for the fruits as He in perfect. But we need to give Him the fruits. In gratitude, we give Him our service and praise. But we also pay attention to our own attitudes and assumptions. Just as illogical as thinking that we can inherit a son's wealth through his murder, it is illogical to rationalize our behavior and our sins. Yet we all do, some more than others. We think we can get away with continuing to act like we are the makers and owners of truth. We must humble ourselves, though. We bring our fruits to God, and receive from Him the truth. We let Him give us our mission.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Twenty-Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

To serve or not to serve. In today's Parable, the first son says that he will not but later repents and does the will of the Father. The second son, who initially responds with enthusiasm, but walks away. In the second reading, we hear a full example of Jesus Christ, the son of God, reduces himself to become a slave, a servant, and obediently accepted even death. Contrast this with the legend of Satan who vowed he would rather rule in hell than to serve in heaven.

We are given the choice: Serve or not serve. Do we empty ourselves, seeking to provide for another's good, or full of pride, act in a selfish manner? Hearing the call is not enough - we have to follow through, too. Let us serve the Lord, let our commitment to Him be sure and strong!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

A Powerful Conversion

Priests for Life Forces Members of Congress to Face Carnage of Abortion by bringing in a former abortionist. The whole article is powerful, but Dr. Levatino's testimony is especially powerful. While the goal of the campaign was simply to present the truth of what abortion truly is (the ending of a human life) and therefore based on facts and logic, it was a personal tragedy that helped him see the truth. May many more, from our lawmakers to the abortionists, hear the truth.

Despite recent 'statements' from high-ranking Catholic politicians (culturally Catholic, at least) stating that the Church has no clear teaching on this, life begins at fertilization. It is an article based on science. That life has dignity and value, this is the article of faith. The choice of abortion is a choice to kill that life. There is no wiggle room - abortion is murder. The fetus is a unique life with different DNA, eventually (still in the womb, of course) unique fingerprints, brain activity, heartbeats, fingers and toes. The child may have a different blood type than the mother, even! This is not a tumor, a mass of flesh, or a product of conception.

Dr. Levatino points this out. Warning: his descriptions are graphic, but necessary.


"Once you have grasped something inside [the uterus], squeeze on the clamp to set the jaws and pull hard - really hard. You feel something let go and out pops a fully formed leg about 4 to 5 inches long. ... Reach in again and again with that clamp and tear out the spine, intestines, heart and lungs.

"The head of a baby that age is about the size of a plum and is now free floating inside the uterine cavity. ... You will know you have it right when you crush down on the clamp and see a pure white gelatinous material issue from the cervix. That was the baby's brains. You can then extract the skull pieces.

"If you have a really bad day like I often did, a little face may come out and stare back at you."

Dr. Levatino, while still practicing as an obstetrician-gynecologist, told CNSNews.com that he ended his career as an abortionist after personal tragedy struck.

"My wife and I had an infertility problem," Levatino said. "We were unable to have children, and after several years of effort, we were very, very fortunate in being able to adopt a little girl whom we named Heather. As sometimes happens, after years of effort -- and I mean three surgeries on my wife's part and everything else -- we finally adopted a child, and my wife got pregnant the very next month. We ended up with two children just 10 months apart. We were very blessed that way.

"On June 23, 1984, my son was trying to cross the street, and my daughter, who was always the little mother, was running after him to tell him not to do that, and she was struck and killed by a car.


"If you haven't gone through that kind of tragedy, you don't have a clue. You may think you can imagine it, but trust me: You have no idea what it's like to lose a child, in any way.

"What do you do after a tragedy? You mourn for a while and you try to get back into your routine. I don't know how long after her death I had to do my first D&E abortion. I remember reaching in and literally ripping out an arm or a leg and looking at it in the clamp and I got sick. When you start an abortion you can't stop. If you leave anything behind, you [can] bet your patient is going to come back infected, bleeding or worse.

"I soldiered on and I finished that abortion."

But, Levatino said, something had changed.

"For the first time in my life I really looked at that pile of goo at the side of the table, and all of a sudden I didn't see her wonderful right to choose, and I didn't see the $600 wad of cash that I made in 15 minutes, and I couldn't think about what a great doctor I was because I took care of her problem. All I could see was somebody's son or daughter."

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Twenty-fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time

All are called to work in the vineyard of the Lord. Whether it is in the beginning of our day, or toward evening, the Lord is searching for us, inviting us to work for Him. At the end, it really will not matter to Him when we started, the reward (eternal life) will be the same for all. On one level, it might seem unfair. But when we understand that God gives His very best to all, it reminds us it is not about us, but about Him all the time. This should not, however, delay us from responding when we hear the invitation! We work so that we may know Him. We work because we love Him! We work because we know our true worth is in being faithful servants. This is our purpose.

May we hear the Lord's invitation, and respond.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Congratulations to Bishop LeVoir

This day was a great day for the Diocese of New Ulm, as we received our fourth Bishop, ordained in our See City. It was a wonderful day of celebration and joy, and the Holy Spirit was strongly present.

May God Bless Bishop Levoir for his 'Yes' to the Holy Father's call to accept the episcopacy. May he be given the grace and strength to lead us for years to come!

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Feast of the Triumph of the Cross

This weekend, we celebrate the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross. This feast is a double-anniversary. It first commemorates the finding of the True Cross by St. Helena (mother of the emperor Constantine) and the dedication of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the site of the Crucifixion, burial, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. This feast, though, is bigger. It is like a mini-Easter - it is a celebration of the Cross, a reminder of the grace that we have been given because of the Cross.

We know that our modern world is filled with so much evil. At times, it might even seem that the evil is winning. But the Cross stands as witness that there is something infinitely more powerful than evil - God. In the cross, Christ accepted what was vile, ugly, and utterly destructive. In His death, he submitted himself to the forces of evil. But His resurrection destroyed death and sin. Everything is changed, transformed, by Christ, though for now we ourselves continue to deal with evil, knowing that it is already conquered. Nothing can conquer God, nothing can overwhelm Christ and His love for us.

Understanding the love of Christ for us, and the triumph of the Cross, how can we give less than our All to Him?

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Twenty-Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Jesus provides the model of 'conflict resolution' for dealing with a brother who is in the wrong. There is an understanding implicit, though, that there is such matters that require addressing. First, the brother is to be addressed one-on-one. If that is ignored, two or three others need to witness the confrontation to assure all that is said is true. Then the Church is to be notified, and if the brother continues to be obstinate in sin, then he is to be treated as a Gentile or tax collector. Note that this is not an abusive treatment, but one that requires separation for the worshipping community and prayer for conversion. Jesus continues to tell the Apostles that they have the authority to bind and loose. This is not an 'ontological' binding and loosing, but a juridical one. What is meant by this distinction is that Jesus does not give the ability to change 'reality' or truth, but one's conversion and forgiveness. It seems to be necessary so that gathering in Christ's name may be holy, and that He be truly present.

Sunday, August 31, 2008

Pope's response to the question of multiple-parish Pastors

In another Question/Answer session with His Holiness Pope Benedict on August 6, he was asked a particular question that is part of our Diocesan reality - priests with multiple parishes. The full session of the meeting in Diocese of Bolzano-Bressanone can be found at this link. Here is the Question and response:

Fr Franz Pixner, dean at Kastelruth: Holy Father, I am Franz Pixner and I am the pastor of two large parishes. I myself, together with many of my confreres and lay persons, are concerned about the increasing burden of pastoral care caused by, for example, the pastoral units that are being created: the intense pressure of work, the lack of recognition, difficulties concerning the Magisterium, loneliness, the dwindling number of priests but also of communities of the faithful. Many people wonder what God is asking of us in this situation and how the Holy Spirit wishes to encourage us. In this context arise questions concerning, for example, the celibacy of priests, the ordination of viri probati to the priesthood, the involvement of charisms, particularly those of women, in pastoral care, making men and women collaborators trained in theology responsible for conferring Baptism and preaching homilies. The question is also asked how we priests, confronted by the new challenges, can help one another in a brotherly community, at the various levels of the diocese, diaconate and pastoral and parish unit. We ask you, Holy Father, to give us some good advice for all these questions. Thank you!

Pope Benedict XVI:

Dear dean, you have opened a whole series of questions that occupy and concern pastors and all of us in this age, and you certainly know that I cannot answer all of them here. I imagine that you will have repeated opportunities to consider them with your Bishop and we in turn we will speak of them at the Synod of Bishops. All of us, I believe stand in need of this dialogue with one another, of the dialogue of faith and responsibility, in order to find the straight narrow path in this era, full of difficult perspectives on faith and challenges for priests. No one has an instant recipe, we are all searching together.

With this reservation, I find myself together with all of you in the midst of this process of toil and interior struggle, I shall try to say a few words, precisely as part of a broader dialogue.

In my answer I would like to examine two fundamental aspects: on the one hand, the irreplaceableness of the priest, the meaning and the manner of the priestly ministry today; and on the other - and this is more obvious than it used to be - the multiplicity of charisms and the fact that all together they are Church, they build the Church and for this reason we must strive to reawaken charisms. We must foster this lively whole which in turn then also supports the priest. He supports others, others support him and only in this complex and variegated whole can the Church develop today and toward the future.

On the one hand, there will always be a need for the priest who is totally dedicated to the Lord and therefore totally dedicated to humanity. In the Old Testament there is the call to "sanctification" which more or less corresponds to what we mean today by "consecration", or even "priestly Ordination": something is delivered over to God and is therefore removed from the common sphere, it is given to him. Yet this means that it is now available for all. Since it has been taken and given to God, for this very reason it is now not isolated by being raised from the "for", to the "for all". I think that this can also be said of the Church's priesthood. It means on the one hand that we are consigned to the Lord, separated from ordinary life, but on the other, we are consigned to him because in this way we can belong to him totally and totally belong to others. I believe we must continuously seek to show this to young people - to those who are idealists, who want to do something for the whole - show them that precisely this "extraction from the common" means "consignment to the whole" and that this is an important way, the most important way, to serve our brethren. Part of this, moreover, is truly making oneself available to the Lord in the fullness of one's being and consequently, finding oneself totally available to men and women. I think celibacy is a fundamental expression of this totality and already, for this reason, an important reference in this world because it only has meaning if we truly believe in eternal life and if we believe that God involves us and that we can be for him.

Therefore, the priesthood is indispensable because in the Eucharist itself, originating in God, the Church is built; in the Sacrament of Penance purification is conferred; in the Sacrament, the priesthood is, precisely, an involvement in the "for" of Jesus Christ. However, I know well how difficult it is today - when a priest finds himself directing not only one easily managed parish but several parishes and pastoral units; when he must be available to give this or that advice, and so forth - how difficult it is to live such a life. I believe that in this situation it is important to have the courage to limit oneself and to be clear about deciding on priorities. A fundamental priority of priestly life is to be with the Lord and thus to have time for prayer. St Charles Borromeo always used to say: "You will not be able to care for the souls of others if you let your own perish. In the end you will no longer do anything even for others. You must always have time for being with God". I would therefore like to emphasize: whatever the demands that arise, it is a real priority to find every day, I would say, an hour to be in silence for the Lord and with the Lord, as the Church suggests we do with the breviary, with daily prayers, so as to continually enrich ourselves inwardly, to return - as I said in answering the first question - to within the reach of the Holy Spirit's breath. And to order priorities on this basis: I must learn to see what is truly essential, where my presence as a priest is indispensable and where I cannot delegate anyone else. And at the same time, I must humbly accept when there are many things I should do and where my presence is requested that I cannot manage because I know my limits. I think people understand this humility.

And I now must link the other aspect to this: knowing how to delegate, to get people to collaborate. I have the impression that people understand and also appreciate it when a priest is with God, when he is concerned with his office of being the person who prays for others: "we", they say, "cannot pray so much, you must do it for us: basically, it is your job, as it were, to be the one who prays for us". They want a priest who honestly endeavours to live with the Lord and then is available to men and women - the suffering, the dying, the sick, children, young people (I would say that they are the priorities) - but also who can distinguish between things that others do better than him, thereby making room for those gifts. I am thinking of Movements and of many other forms of collaboration in the parish. May all these things also be reflected upon in the diocese itself, new forms of collaboration should be created and interchanges encouraged. You rightly said that in this it is important to look beyond the parish to the diocesan community, indeed, to the community of the universal Church which in her turn must direct her gaze to see what is happening in the parish and what the consequences are for the individual priest.

You then touched on another point, very important in my eyes: priests, even if they live far apart are a true community of brothers who should support and help one another. In order not to drift into isolation, into loneliness with its sorrows, it is important for us to meet one another regularly. It will be the task of the diocese to establish how best to organize meetings for priests - today we have cars which make travelling easier - so that we can experience being together ever anew, learn from one another, mutually correct and help one another, cheer one another and comfort one another, so that in this communion of the presbyterate, together with the Bishop we can carry out our service to the local Church. Precisely: no priest is a priest on his own; we are a presbyterate and it is only in this communion with the Bishop that each one can carry out his service. Now, this beautiful communion recognized by all at the theological level, must also be expressed in practice in the ways identified by the local Church, and it must be extended because no Bishop is a Bishop on his own but only a Bishop in the College, in the great communion of Bishops. This is the communion we should always strive for. And I think that it is a particularly beautiful aspect of Catholicism: through the Primacy, which is not an absolute monarchy but a service of communion, that we may have the certainty of this unity. Thus in a large community with many voices, all together we make the great music of faith ring out in this world.

Let us pray the Lord to comfort us when we think we cannot manage any longer: let us support one another and then the Lord will help us to find the right paths together.

Twenty Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

Last week's Gospel include Peter's proclamation that Jesus is the Son of the Most high, the Messiah. This week, our Gospel includes Jesus telling them what He as the messiah most do to bring salvation. Peter holds strong to his perception, and finds a reprimand. No, the Messiah most suffer, die, and rise. Peter is think by worldly standards, not by God's. In the second reading this weekend, we hear Paul telling the Romans that they (and we) must be about the transformation of our minds and the sacrifice of our bodies, to discern the will of God.

Discernment, therefore, requires the offering of our bodies and allowing the transformation of our minds. We allow God to be God, and cooperate with His action in our lives.