Shocking but True: The Catholic Church is not about Rules

There is a common misconception in my opinion that the Catholic Church is about rules, but I think that's false. Unfortunately this isn't just believed by outsiders, but by most insiders in the Church as well.

The best way I can put it is that rules exist as a necessary consequence of the deeper teachings of Jesus Christ. Looking at the Catholic Faith as a series of rules takes away from the totality of the faith and is a form of reductionism.

I could use countless analogies to illustrate this point. The goal is music is to express an idea in a beautiful and appealing way. Because of this, there are rules. For example, if one wishes to express a happy theme, they would play the music in a major key. In music theory, major keys follow a pattern. For example, the basic C scale has no sharps or flats. On a piano, you would only play the white keys. Along with the melody, there are rules in terms of making chords which sound good.

No one would describe playing the piano as "following the rules". No one would say they listen to a particular piece because the person playing it is "following the rules" better than others. No, the music is either beautiful or it is not. It is either emotive or it's not. Randomly mashing the keys will produce noise as opposed to music.

Even someone with no musical training or experience can tell if a particular piece has the intended effect. They can tell whether or not they enjoy listening to it  and whether or not it expresses what it is meant to.

You could say the same for countless other endeavors, such as cooking, engineering, carpentry, etc, etc. Yes, all of these professions have rules that must be followed, but the rules come as a natural consequence of the overall goal.

When it comes to the Catholic faith, I find all too many cradle Catholics just following the rules, but are not really interested in going any further. To me that's like trying to get 50% on your test to just barely pass. Does this really show a true love for what you are doing? By the way, I am not saying I am better than others or have achieved some high level of spirituality. I am just thinking about this concept, and am myself also pursuing this!

As one priest put it, God wants everyone to be saved, so therefore salvation should presumably be easy. In Catholic theology, in order to enter into heaven, one must be in the state of grace, that means not having any mortal sins that have not been absolved. Therefore, staying out of mortal sin is sufficient to enter heaven, even if it means having to spend some time in Purgatory.

However, the saints were never satisfied with doing the bare minimum. Something I have come to appreciate more and more about the Catholic faith is that it's based on a relationship with God. This might sound obvious. But our ultimate goal is to be united with the triune God, through his Grace. This is our ultimate end as human beings. Following the rules naturally flows from this endeavor.

A holy priest recently explained that there are three phases of the spiritual life: the purgative way, the illuminative way, and the unitive way.

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia,

The unitive way is the way of those who are in the state of the perfect, that is, those who have their minds so drawn away from all temporal things that they enjoy great peace, who are neither agitated by various desires nor moved by any great extent by passion, and who have their minds chiefly fixed on God and their attention turned, either always or very frequently, to Him.

This is what we should be seeking to attain.  That's the goal of our Catholic Faith and what the great saints were able to experience. I think this is how our faith should be explained and told to others. Many outsiders see the Catholic faith as a series of strict rules, rather than the attainment of a personal and deep relationship with God that is beyond words.

What happens when people don't realize this? Well again we go back to the rules. People ask about the minimum requirements. People ask questions all the time like "Are Catholics allowed to....." "Wait, are you saying Catholics can't......." Often these questions are related to forms of pleasure attained through sex or food. As Catholics, we should try to change the conversation. Instead of explaining in detail what we are allowed to do, we should explain the point of the Faith, which is union with God. Otherwise people think it's just some kind of strict regimen that we follow.

At the beginning of this essay, I gave several examples of endeavors wherein there is an obvious end and means. Because people understand the end, they are able to accept the means. That's why we should emphasize the end. Imagine if someone was hooking up the electricity to a house and said "I don't think it's important to follow all these rules created by people, I just do what I think feels right for me, I'm open-minded." If that person was incorrectly installing the wiring and creating fire hazards, no one would think they were doing something good. They would be shocked (quite literally). People would be concerned, not because they are sticklers but because they understand the ultimate end of what is being done. The electricity is being hooked up in a safe and regulated way to ensure heat and light to the house.

We have explained the ultimate end of our Faith - union with God. This must remain at the forefront of any discussion. It should be framed in the positive. Otherwise, it can end up sounding arbitrary. It's also important to explain why a particular rule will bring about a particular outcome. Again, this is important in how things are phrased.

One thing that prompted this essay is the common attitude I have observed from my fellow Catholics in which they have this mentality of just following the rules. Again, I am not advocating not following the rules. To the contrary, I am saying people need to go beyond the rules, to understand WHY they are doing them and what the ultimate purpose is for these rules.

For example, when we pray, we are connecting with God. The better we pray, the better we connect with our Creator. If we see prayer as some regimented perfunctory task, then we will not attempt to grow deeper in our connection to God through prayer.

Another example is the Mass. I often see people talk during Mass or just before when others are praying. Fr. Ripperger talks about how we have been indoctrinated as Catholics with the idea that the only form of prayer is verbal prayer and because of this people think that when there is any silence whatsoever, then nothing is "happening" and they can be free to whisper to the person next to them. I'm not coming at this from a place of judgment. Most people are not doing this maliciously. I have done it myself on many occasions. But to go back to the original point, these people may think of everything in terms of rules, and the rules state you must go to Mass. There isn't a specific rule saying not to whisper during Mass, but that would come from an overall attitude of reverence for the Mass. The attitude of reverence would come from knowing what the Mass is and its ultimate purpose.

The same goes for reverence towards the Eucharist. If people truly understand that they are partaking of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ in order to attain a close union with him, they would not casually receive communion and think nothing of it. The latter attitude again comes from thinking in terms of the rules. The "rules" state that you must line up, receive communion and consume the Eucharist. That's it. Those are the rules. But the Eucharist is so much more than that.

Overall I think this is a huge problem in our Church, both inside and out. I don't wish to come across as some kind of expert. I am simply seeking to understand these issues. Please comment below if you have of your own input to add to this discussion.

Catholic Church Readings for Tuesday, January 26, 2021: Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, bishops

Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, bishops

Lectionary: 520/318

Reading I

2 Tm 1:1-8

Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God

for the promise of life in Christ Jesus,

to Timothy, my dear child:

grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father

and Christ Jesus our Lord.

I am grateful to God,

whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,

as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.

I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears,

so that I may be filled with joy, 

as I recall your sincere faith

that first lived in your grandmother Lois

and in your mother Eunice

and that I am confident lives also in you.

For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame

the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.

For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice

but rather of power and love and self-control.

So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,

nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;

but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel

with the strength that comes from God.

OR:

Ti 1:1-5

Paul, a slave of God and Apostle of Jesus Christ

for the sake of the faith of God’s chosen ones

and the recognition of religious truth,

in the hope of eternal life 

that God, who does not lie, promised before time began,

who indeed at the proper time revealed his word

in the proclamation with which I was entrusted

by the command of God our savior,

to Titus, my true child in our common faith:

grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.

For this reason I left you in Crete

so that you might set right what remains to be done

and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you.

Responsorial Psalm

96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10

R.    (3)  Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Sing to the LORD a new song;

    sing to the LORD, all you lands.

Sing to the LORD; bless his name.

R.    Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Announce his salvation, day after day.

Tell his glory among the nations;

    among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.

R.    Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Give to the LORD, you families of nations,

    give to the LORD glory and praise;

    give to the LORD the glory due his name!

R.    Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Say among the nations: The LORD is king.

He has made the world firm, not to be moved;

    he governs the peoples with equity.

R.    Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.

Alleluia

See Mt 11:25

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;

you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 3:31-35

The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.

Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.

A crowd seated around him told him,

“Your mother and your brothers and your sisters

are outside asking for you.”

But he said to them in reply,

“Who are my mother and my brothers?”

And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,

“Here are my mother and my brothers.

For whoever does the will of God

is my brother and sister and mother.”

What does the Catholic Church mean by Unitive?

My friends and I were having our weekly catechism discussion and this past week concerned the 6th commandment against adultery. It was mentioned in our discussion that in order for a sexual act to be morally valid and licit, it would have to be three things:

• Procreative
• Unitive
• Marital

My friend would give examples of sexual expression and ask whether they met the three conditions listed above.

During this exercise, a question came up for me which was how does the Church define "unitive". I had assumed that unitive meant two married people uniting in the sacrament of marriage. Therefore, it would have to be open to life, non-contracepting, between a married couple.

It seems I was wrong.

I looked around and no one was really providing a good definition of what constituted "unitive". However, I eventually ran across an article written by theologian Ronald L. Conte Jr. In the article, he goes on to explain what constitutes unitive and basically answers objections to this line of reasoning.

I was surprised to find out that a sexual act can be unitive even if it involves contraception or even if it occurs outside of marriage. Of course, as mentioned, not one, but all three of the above conditions must be met in order for an act to be morally valid. However, just because some of the conditions are not met, does not automatically mean they aren't all met.

I guess logically this makes sense. If this were the case, there would not be three conditions, only one or two. In other words, unitive could just simply be an aspect of procreative if it was implied in the definition.

So what is the answer? Unitive simply means a sexual act involving a man and a woman. This could be between a married couple that is contracepting or between a man and a prostitute. To bolster this idea, Ronald L Conte Jr. quotes St. Paul in the Book of 1 Corinthians 6:15 when he says:

15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I therefore take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who joins himself to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two shall become one.”

St. Paul is saying that he who joins himself to a prostitute becomes on body with her, i.e. it is unitive. It doesn't make it right, but that one aspect is fulfilled.

In terms of married couples who contracept, this too would be considered unitive. To show how this is the case, Mr. Conte quotes from Humanae Vitae, which came after the Second Vatican Council, in 1968. I will also quote what Mr. Conte had to say about it:

The Vademecum for Confessors: “Special difficulties are presented by cases of cooperation in the sin of a spouse who voluntarily renders the unitive act infecund.” [n. 13]

Here the Holy See calls contracepted marital sex “the unitive act”. It could not be called by that term if contraception deprived sex of its unitive meaning.

Mr. Conte explains it well. It would be illogical to call an act unitive if it wasn't. It's quite simple. And the act they are referring to is a contracepted marital act. Therefore, the Church would consider such an act to remain unitive.

However, are all sexual acts unitive? Of course not. Unitive sexual acts must involve a man and a woman engaging in intercourse. Homosexual acts are not unitive, nor is self-pollution (masturbation). The latter is obvious since an act involving one person obviously cannot be unitive. The former is not unitive, however the exact reason why not I am not sure. It could simply be because the real definition of sex is sexual intercourse between a man and a woman. It's sufficient to say that homosexual acts fulfill none of the three criteria.

I hope this clarifies things for people. Please comment if you have any comments or questions.

Catholic Church Readings for Monday, January 25, 2021: Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle

Catholic Church Readings for Sunday, January 25, 2021: Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul, Apostle

Lectionary: 519

Reading I

Acts 22:3-16

Paul addressed the people in these words:

“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia,

but brought up in this city.

At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law

and was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.

I persecuted this Way to death,

binding both men and women and delivering them to prison.

Even the high priest and the whole council of elders

can testify on my behalf.

For from them I even received letters to the brothers

and set out for Damascus to bring back to Jerusalem

in chains for punishment those there as well.

“On that journey as I drew near to Damascus,

about noon a great light from the sky suddenly shone around me.

I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me,

‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

I replied, ‘Who are you, sir?’

And he said to me,

‘I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are persecuting.’

My companions saw the light

but did not hear the voice of the one who spoke to me.

I asked, ‘What shall I do, sir?’

The Lord answered me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus,

and there you will be told about everything

appointed for you to do.’ 

Since I could see nothing because of the brightness of that light,

I was led by hand by my companions and entered Damascus.

“A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law,

and highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,

came to me and stood there and said,

‘Saul, my brother, regain your sight.’

And at that very moment I regained my sight and saw him.

Then he said,

‘The God of our ancestors designated you to know his will,

to see the Righteous One, and to hear the sound of his voice;

for you will be his witness before all

to what you have seen and heard.

Now, why delay?

Get up and have yourself baptized and your sins washed away,

calling upon his name.’”

OR:

Acts 9:1-22

Saul, still breathing murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,

went to the high priest and asked him

for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, that,

if he should find any men or women who belonged to the Way,

he might bring them back to Jerusalem in chains.

On his  journey, as he was nearing Damascus,

a light from the sky suddenly flashed around him.

He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him,

“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

He said, “Who are you, sir?”

The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do.” 

The men who were traveling with him stood speechless,

for they heard the voice but could see no one.

Saul got up from the ground,

but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing;

so they led him by the hand and brought him to Damascus.

For three days he was unable to see, and he neither ate nor drank.

There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias,

and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias.”

He answered, “Here I am, Lord.”

The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight

and ask at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul. 

He is there praying,

and in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias

come in and lay his hands on him,

that he may regain his sight.”

But Ananias replied,

“Lord, I have heard from many sources about this man,

what evil things he has done to your holy ones in Jerusalem.

And here he has authority from the chief priests

to imprison all who call upon your name.”

But the Lord said to him,

“Go, for this man is a chosen instrument of mine

to carry my name before Gentiles, kings, and children of Israel,

and I will show him what he will have to suffer for my name.”

So Ananias went and entered the house;

laying his hands on him, he said,

“Saul, my brother, the Lord has sent me,

Jesus who appeared to you on the way by which you came,

that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Immediately things like scales fell from his eyes

and he regained his sight.

He got up and was baptized,

and when he had eaten, he recovered his strength.

He stayed some days with the disciples in Damascus,

and he began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues,

that he is the Son of God.

All who heard him were astounded and said, 

“Is not this the man who in Jerusalem

ravaged those who call upon this name,

and came here expressly to take them back in chains

to the chief priests?”

But Saul grew all the stronger

and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus,

proving that this is the Christ.

Responsorial Psalm

117:1bc, 2

R.    (Mark 16:15)  Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.

or:

R.    Alleluia, alleluia.

Praise the LORD, all you nations;

    glorify him, all you peoples!

R.    Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.

or:

R.    Alleluia, alleluia.

For steadfast is his kindness toward us,

    and the fidelity of the Lord endures forever.

R.    Go out to all the world, and tell the Good News.

or:

R.    Alleluia, alleluia.

Alleluia

See Jn 15:16

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

I chose you from the world,

to go and bear fruit that will last, says the Lord.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 16:15-18

Jesus appeared to the Eleven and said to them:

“Go into the whole world

and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved;

whoever does not believe will be condemned.

These signs will accompany those who believe:

in my name they will drive out demons,

they will speak new languages.

They will pick up serpents with their hands,

and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not harm them.

They will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.” 

You Can't Make this Up: NYT declares "President Biden is perhaps the most religiously observant commander in chief in half a century."

Is this some kind of a joke? It's not even April 1 yet.

The full tweet reads:

President Biden is perhaps the most religiously observant commander in chief in half a century. A different, more liberal Christianity grounds his life and his policies.

Wow. I can tell you one thing, this isn't written by an observant or devout Catholic. It is objectively false. Observant is defined as "adhering strictly to the rules of a particular religion". Joe Biden outright violates many tenets of his religion. As a Catholic, he is not permitted to advocate for things which are opposed to Catholicism. It is simply not permissible. Plus, we have no indication that Biden disagrees with his policies even on a personal level.

The two sentences actually contradict each other. The first says he is religiously observant. Well, since he says he is Catholic, it would imply he is a religiously observant Catholic. Well, that's not the case. But the second sentences goes on to say a "different, more liberal Christianity grounds his life and policies". Well, since Catholicism isn't a "different, more liberal Christianity", he cannot be an observant Catholic.

I mean, I suppose he could be an observant member of a "different, more liberal Christianity", but what value does that statement have? In other words, he's a strict adherent of an form of Christianity that he made up himself that happens to conform to his political beliefs? Who on earth doesn't adhere to their own beliefs? It's a meaningless tautology. The Church is meant to change our lives and better conform us to the will of God. It's not a pick-and-choose religion that you make up as you go along.

I think the media are operating under the belief that you just have to repeat a lie over and over until people eventually accept it. This is something a nazi once said anyway. The sad thing is people often just acquire their points of view from the media. The media declares over and over that Joe Biden is a "devout Catholic" and they just believe it.

As I showed in a previous blog post, Joe Biden will be bad for Catholicism. He is one of the most pro-abortion presidents ever and wants to fund international abortion. This is already a grave moral evil. He wants to force nuns to pay for contraception and abortion. He's not good on religious freedom either. So how exactly can anyone say Joe Biden is a good Catholic or advances Catholic causes? He doesn't. I can't judge his soul, I can only judge the public actions he is taking.

What I also find funny is how on Twitter and elsewhere, non-Catholic liberals are all clamoring to say how devout and observant Joe really is. What do they know? They oppose everything the Church stands for. Why do they feel able to tell anyone whether or not Joe is a devout Catholic?

The Catholic Church has strict and specific morals. It's not just a general set of guidelines which Catholics are free to apply or disregard at will depending on their own personal beliefs. It doesn't work that way.

St. Augustine said it best:

If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.

Catholic Church Readings for Sunday, January 24, 2021: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Catholic Church Readings for Sunday, January 24, 2021: Third Sunday in Ordinary Time

Sunday of the Word of God

Lectionary: 68

Reading I

Jon 3:1-5, 10

The word of the LORD came to Jonah, saying:

“Set out for the great city of Nineveh,

and announce to it the message that I will tell you.”

So Jonah made ready and went to Nineveh,

according to the LORD’S bidding.

Now Nineveh was an enormously large city;

it took three days to go through it.

Jonah began his journey through the city,

and had gone but a single day’s walk announcing,

“Forty days more and Nineveh shall be destroyed, “

when the people of Nineveh believed God;

they proclaimed a fast

and all of them, great and small, put on sackcloth.

When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,

he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them;

he did not carry it out.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 25:4-5, 6-7, 8-9

R. (4a) Teach me your ways, O Lord.

Your ways, O LORD, make known to me;

    teach me your paths,

Guide me in your truth and teach me,

    for you are God my savior.

R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.

Remember that your compassion, O LORD,

    and your love are from of old.

In your kindness remember me,

    because of your goodness, O LORD.

R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.

Good and upright is the LORD;

    thus he shows sinners the way.

He guides the humble to justice

    and teaches the humble his way.

R. Teach me your ways, O Lord.

Reading II

1 Cor 7:29-31

I tell you, brothers and sisters, the time is running out.

From now on, let those having wives act as not having them,

those weeping as not weeping,

those rejoicing as not rejoicing,

those buying as not owning, 

those using the world as not using it fully.

For the world in its present form is passing away.

Alleluia

Mk 1:15

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

The kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent and believe in the Gospel.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 1:14-20

After John had been arrested,

Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the gospel of God:

“This is the time of fulfillment.

The kingdom of God is at hand.

Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

As he passed by the Sea of Galilee,

he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting their nets into the sea;

they were fishermen.

Jesus said to them,

“Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

Then they abandoned their nets and followed him.

He walked along a little farther

and saw James, the son of Zebedee, and his brother John.

They too were in a boat mending their nets.

Then he called them.

So they left their father Zebedee in the boat

along with the hired men and followed him.

Catholic Church Readings for January 23, 2021: Saturday in the Second Week of Ordinary Time

Catholic Church Readings for January 23, 2021: Saturday in the Second Week of Ordinary Time

Lectionary: 316

Reading I

Heb 9:2-3, 11-14

A tabernacle was constructed, the outer one,

in which were the lampstand, the table, and the bread of offering; 

this is called the Holy Place.

Behind the second veil was the tabernacle called the Holy of Holies. 

But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that have come to be, 

passing through the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made by hands, 

that is, not belonging to this creation, 

he entered once for all into the sanctuary, 

not with the blood of goats and calves but with his own Blood, 

thus obtaining eternal redemption.

For if the blood of goats and bulls and the sprinkling of a heifer’s ashes 

can sanctify those who are defiled 

so that their flesh is cleansed, 

how much more will the Blood of Christ, 

who through the eternal spirit offered himself unblemished to God,

cleanse our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.

Responsorial Psalm

47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9

R. (6) God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

All you peoples, clap your hands,

shout to God with cries of gladness,

For the LORD, the Most High, the awesome,

is the great king over all the earth.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

God mounts his throne amid shouts of joy;

the LORD, amid trumpet blasts.

Sing praise to God, sing praise;

sing praise to our king, sing praise.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

For king of all the earth is God:

sing hymns of praise.

God reigns over the nations,

God sits upon his holy throne.

R. God mounts his throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets for the Lord.

Alleluia

See Acts 16:14b

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Open our hearts, O Lord,

to listen to the words of your Son.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 3:20-21

Jesus came with his disciples into the house.

Again the crowd gathered,

making it impossible for them even to eat.

When his relatives heard of this they set out to seize him, 

for they said, “He is out of his mind.” 

What People have to say about National Day of Prayer for the Unborn - Catholic

Today is the National Day of Prayer for the Unborn in the United States. It marks the 48th anniversary of Roe v. Wade which magically discovered a new right to abortion.

What did national leaders and well-known Catholics have to say today? Here are a few:

USCCB:

Cardinal Dolan of New York:

It's a somber day as we remember January 22, 1973 and the disastrous Supreme Court ruling of Roe v. Wade. It has led to the brutal abortion license here in the country we love. We bishops have designated today a national day of prayer for the legal protection of the unborn.

Phoenix Diocese:

Today is the anniversary of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion and has been recognized as a National Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children. Join us in prayer and fasting for the protection of the most vulnerable of our brothers and sisters.

Society of GK Chesterton:

Fr. Frank Pavone:

On this day that we remember the terrible Supreme Court decision in 1973 that legalized the killing of unborn babies, We must not remain silent. 

We are their Voice!

Fr. Frank Pavone

Does it take seeing the baby girl in the womb to make you want to defend her? She has no voice yet. Will you be her voice? #prolife

I want to celebrate the Day we ENDED LEGAL ABORTION!

EWTN:

Not sure when this was written, but this is:

Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer For The Unborn

Lord Jesus, 

You who faithfully visit and fulfill with your Presence the Church and the history of men; You who in the miraculous Sacrament of your Body and Blood render us participants in divine Life and allow us a foretaste of the joy of eternal Life; We adore and bless you.

Prostrated before You, source and lover of Life, truly present and alive among us, we beg you.

Reawaken in us respect for every unborn life, make us capable of seeing in the fruit of the maternal womb the miraculous work of the Creator, open our hearts to generously welcoming every child that comes into life.

Bless all families, sanctify the union of spouses, render fruitful their love.

Accompany the choices of legislative assemblies with the light of your Spirit, so that peoples and nations may recognize and respect the sacred nature of life, of every human life.

Guide the work of scientists and doctors, so that all progress contributes to the integral well-being of the person, and no one endures suppression or injustice.

Give creative charity to administrators and economists, so they may realize and promote sufficient conditions so that young families can serenely embrace the birth of new children.

Console the married couples who suffer because they are unable to have children and in Your goodness provide for them.

Teach us all to care for orphaned or abandoned children, so they may experience the warmth of your Charity, the consolation of your divine Heart.

Together with Mary, Your Mother, the great believer, in whose womb you took on our human nature, we wait to receive from You, our Only True Good and Savior, the strength to love and serve life, in anticipation of living forever in You, in communion with the Blessed Trinity.

Should we be Advertising Evil?

A thought that I've had over the past while is whether or not we should advertise evil things on purpose or inadvertently. It's a question without an easy answer.

At first, it seems obvious that we shouldn't advertise evil. Open and shut case. It becomes complicated in my opinion as we should condemn evil in our world and maybe alert people to evil, but how do we do so without making things worse?

I think there is definitely a balance, but how does one achieve this balance? Often I see Catholic news agencies or commentators bringing up evils that are happening in the world. These can include a general direction in which the country is headed or it could be a particular news story which features evil themes. Even this blog has delved into many of these topics. Is this wrong?

Another issue is giving voice to heretical and blasphemous religious figures including priests, and bishops. What should be done here. Again it's about balance.

I think all too often we err on the side of providing too much information as opposed to too little. I think when it comes to discussing issues of morality that are presented in the news, we should strive to the greatest degree we can to minimize the unnecessary specifics of what is occurring. Often things may not even really need to be reported at all. The question needs to be asked: who is this information helping?

Will the information being presented increase or decrease evil? It's a legitimate question. As Catholics, we should not spend a great deal of time thinking about and understanding evil. There is in fact a sin associated with this desire to know things which we ought not pursue. Thomas Aquinas simply calls it curiosity. It's the idea of delving too deeply into topics of evil.

I am speaking about this because it is such a prevalent issue. Evil is continually reported on many Catholic media outfits. I get it. Evil things and events get headlines. I'm not saying they shouldn't be reported. If the government is doing something evil, we should know about it. But often, the information isn't of value to the public and will help almost no one who finds out about it.

A similar idea is promoting heretical, blasphemous or otherwise dangerous clergy. Why give them a platform at all? That's what they crave. They don't care about the bad publicity, they just want publicity. Anything a conservative Catholic may say against them just gets chalked up to "hate" and they dismiss it. You aren't changing their minds. I think in these cases it's best to just ignore them. If no one knows about them, they cannot do damage.

Conservative media are often complicit, in my opinion, in promoting evil in the guise of exposing it. Someone does something immoral or blasphemous which probably would have never been known, but the conservative media uses it to condemn the way things are or are going. The intention is probably good, but I think overall it has a bad impact. Most of the "shocking" things reported by conservative media would probably be ignored by the rest of the media. I mean they don't themselves to look bad either. So if the conservative media doesn't report it, no one will, which will be much better.

The same goes for public figures who do and say evil things. Instead of promoting them by writing articles and publishing news stories, we should just ignore them. If they are ignored by faithful Catholics, probably no one will pay attention to them. They get pumped up because we spend so much time reporting on them.

Again, it's about balance. If we are reporting that Joe Biden has increased access to abortion, that isn't exactly a secret. That should be reported. The same goes for many things. I guess overall I would just ask people to consider the impact what they are writing has - is it good or bad?

Catholic Church Readings for January 22, 2021: Friday in the Second Week of Ordinary Time

Catholic Church Readings for January 22, 2021: Friday in the Second Week of Ordinary Time

Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children

Lectionary: 315

Reading I

Heb 8:6-13

Brothers and sisters:

Now our high priest has obtained so much more excellent a ministry

as he is mediator of a better covenant, 

enacted on better promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, 

no place would have been sought for a second one.

But he finds fault with them and says:

Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord,

when I will conclude a new covenant with the house of 

Israel and the house of Judah.

It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers

the day I took them by the hand to lead 

them forth from the land of Egypt;

for they did not stand by my covenant

and I ignored them, says the Lord.

But this is the covenant I will establish with the house of Israel

after those days, says the Lord:

I will put my laws in their minds

and I will write them upon their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they shall be my people.

And they shall not teach, each one his fellow citizen and kin, saying,

“Know the Lord,”

for all shall know me, from least to greatest.

For I will forgive their evildoing

and remember their sins no more.

When he speaks of a “new” covenant, 

he declares the first one obsolete.

And what has become obsolete 

and has grown old is close to disappearing.

Responsorial Psalm

85:8 and 10, 11-12, 13-14

R. (11a) Kindness and truth shall meet.

Show us, O LORD, your mercy,

and grant us your salvation.

Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,

glory dwelling in our land.

R. Kindness and truth shall meet.

Kindness and truth shall meet;

justice and peace shall kiss.

Truth shall spring out of the earth,

and justice shall look down from heaven.

R. Kindness and truth shall meet.

The LORD himself will give his benefits;

our land shall yield its increase.

Justice shall walk before him,

and salvation, along the way of his steps.

R. Kindness and truth shall meet.

Alleluia

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ,

and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel

Mk 3:13-19

Jesus went up the mountain and summoned those whom he wanted 

and they came to him.

He appointed Twelve, whom he also named Apostles,

that they might be with him

and he might send them forth to preach 

and to have authority to drive out demons:

He appointed the Twelve:

Simon, whom he named Peter; 

James, son of Zebedee, 

and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, 

that is, sons of thunder;

Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew,

Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus; 

Thaddeus, Simon the Cananean,

and Judas Iscariot who betrayed him.

USCCB Statement Upon the Inauguration of Joe Biden as President of the United States

Below is the USCCB statement in full which was issued on January 20, 2021 upon the inauguration of Joe Biden as President of the United States. To see it on the USCCB website, click here.

Statement on the Inauguration of Joseph R. Biden, Jr., as 46th President of the United States of America from Most Reverend José H. Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles, President, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

My prayers are with our new President and his family today.

I am praying that God grant him wisdom and courage to lead this great nation and that God help him to meet the tests of these times, to heal the wounds caused by this pandemic, to ease our intense political and cultural divisions, and to bring people together with renewed dedication to America’s founding purposes, to be one nation under God committed to liberty and equality for all.

Catholic bishops are not partisan players in our nation’s politics. We are pastors responsible for the souls of millions of Americans and we are advocates for the needs of all our neighbors. In every community across the country, Catholic parishes, schools, hospitals, and ministries form an essential culture of compassion and care, serving women, children, and the elderly, the poor and sick, the imprisoned, the migrant, and the marginalized, no matter what their race or religion.

When we speak on issues in American public life, we try to guide consciences, and we offer principles.  These principles are rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the social teachings of his Church. Jesus Christ revealed God’s plan of love for creation and revealed the truth about the human person, who is created in God’s image, endowed with God-given dignity, rights and responsibilities, and called to a transcendent destiny.

Based on these truths, which are reflected in the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights, the bishops and Catholic faithful carry out Christ’s commandment to love God and love our neighbors by working for an America that protects human dignity, expands equality and opportunities for every person, and is open-hearted towards the suffering and weak.

For many years now, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has tried to help Catholics and others of good will in their reflections on political issues through a publication we call Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship. The most recent edition addresses a wide range of concerns. Among them: abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, immigration, racism, poverty, care for the environment, criminal justice reform, economic development, and international peace.

On these and other issues, our duty to love and our moral principles lead us to prudential judgments and positions that do not align neatly with the political categories of left or right or the platforms of our two major political parties. We work with every President and every Congress. On some issues we find ourselves more on the side of Democrats, while on others we find ourselves standing with Republicans. Our priorities are never partisan. We are Catholics first, seeking only to follow Jesus Christ faithfully and to advance his vision for human fraternity and community.

I look forward to working with President Biden and his administration, and the new Congress. As with every administration, there will be areas where we agree and work closely together and areas where we will have principled disagreement and strong opposition.

Working with President Biden will be unique, however, as he is our first president in 60 years to profess the Catholic faith. In a time of growing and aggressive secularism in American culture, when religious believers face many challenges, it will be refreshing to engage with a President who clearly understands, in a deep and personal way, the importance of religious faith and institutions. Mr. Biden’s piety and personal story, his moving witness to how his faith has brought him solace in times of darkness and tragedy, his longstanding commitment to the Gospel’s priority for the poor — all of this I find hopeful and inspiring.

At the same time, as pastors, the nation’s bishops are given the duty of proclaiming the Gospel in all its truth and power, in season and out of season, even when that teaching is inconvenient or when the Gospel’s truths run contrary to the directions of the wider society and culture. So, I must point out that our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. Of deep concern is the liberty of the Church and the freedom of believers to live according to their consciences.

Our commitments on issues of human sexuality and the family, as with our commitments in every other area — such as abolishing the death penalty or seeking a health care system and economy that truly serves the human person — are guided by Christ’s great commandment to love and to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters, especially the most vulnerable.

For the nation’s bishops, the continued injustice of abortion remains the “preeminent priority.” Preeminent does not mean “only.” We have deep concerns about many threats to human life and dignity in our society. But as Pope Francis teaches, we cannot stay silent when nearly a million unborn lives are being cast aside in our country year after year through abortion.

Abortion is a direct attack on life that also wounds the woman and undermines the family. It is not only a private matter, it raises troubling and fundamental questions of fraternity, solidarity, and inclusion in the human community. It is also a matter of social justice. We cannot ignore the reality that abortion rates are much higher among the poor and minorities, and that the procedure is regularly used to eliminate children who would be born with disabilities.

Rather than impose further expansions of abortion and contraception, as he has promised, I am hopeful that the new President and his administration will work with the Church and others of good will. My hope is that we can begin a dialogue to address the complicated cultural and economic factors that are driving abortion and discouraging families. My hope, too, is that we can work together to finally put in place a coherent family policy in this country, one that acknowledges the crucial importance of strong marriages and parenting to the well-being of children and the stability of communities. If the President, with full respect for the Church’s religious freedom, were to engage in this conversation, it would go a long way toward restoring the civil balance and healing our country’s needs.

President Biden’s call for national healing and unity is welcome on all levels. It is urgently needed as we confront the trauma in our country caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the social isolation that has only worsened the intense and long-simmering divisions among our fellow citizens.

As believers, we understand that healing is a gift that we can only receive from the hand of God. We know, too, that real reconciliation requires patient listening to those who disagree with us and a willingness to forgive and move beyond desires for reprisal. Christian love calls us to love our enemies and bless those who oppose us, and to treat others with the same compassion that we want for ourselves. 

We are all under the watchful eye of God, who alone knows and can judge the intentions of our hearts. I pray that God will give our new President, and all of us, the grace to seek the common good with all sincerity.

I entrust all our hopes and anxieties in this new moment to the tender heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the mother of Christ and the patroness of this exceptional nation. May she guide us in the ways of peace and obtain for us wisdom and the grace of a true patriotism and love of country.

Blessed are the Poor, but who are they?

I'm definitely no expert in this area, but we often hear about the poor and how we ought to help them. I just wanted to offer a few thoughts on this.

First I want to say I don't think people should be classified as a category. It seems very permanent. Sometimes we lump poor people into a group and thinking of them as a collective. Or we see an individual as a poor person. I don't usually agree with political correctness as I think it has gone much too far, but a good point is not to categorize people in a one-dimensional way. Instead of saying "he's a poor person", it's better to say he is someone who is poor. Why do I say that? Because he could be poor at the moment, maybe he's hard on his luck, maybe he lost his job or has a substance abuse problem, who knows? But his poverty should not define who he is as a person. Beyond the financial poverty, he is a human being with an intellect, emotions, and aspirations, etc.

Also, just calling someone a poor person can tend to categorize them along with all the other poor people in the world. Rather than a specific circumstance this person finds himself, it becomes his collective identity and we start to think everyone who is poor is identical in almost every way.

Another trend I have noticed in the church is to refer to places like the Global South as being poor. This is a terrible way of thinking as it implies that everyone in the south of the globe has no choice but to be poor, and thus we must be their guardians and financial supporters or else there is nothing they can do.

I tend to take the approach that we all came here after thousands of generations. To get here, our ancestors had to carve out an existence. Often this happened in extremely difficult and grueling circumstances. We have endured famines, disasters, disease outbreaks, etc. and yet here we are to tell our story. Everyone has come from such a lineage. Therefore, we cannot think of entire groups of people as being completely incompetent and unable to make their own life. I think almost anyone can make something of themselves with the right kind of help, love, and support.

But an even bigger question is "who is poor?" It might seem easy to classify anyone with little money as being poor. But one thing I have come across many times in spiritual writings is the pre-eminence of spiritual matters over temporal ones. As people living in a secular world, we tend to focus on the material, the immediate, the visible, and less on the immaterial and invisible.

The poorest person is the one who has the least connection with God, ultimately. Our goal as human beings is to enter into communion with God. Many saints had no money at all, many had little food and would fast for extended periods of time, yet because of their closeness and love of God, they were the richest people on Earth. If we think primarily in terms of spiritual matters, then things become a lot more clear.

So I think we need to change our attitude about poverty, in my opinion. Spiritual poverty is the greatest kind. When it comes to financial poverty, we cannot save the world on our own. I don't think God has designed us that way. Instead, he asks us to care for those around us and to do what we can to bring about the Kingdom of God. I think all too often people get caught up in the concept of saving the world and they start to believe they can actually do so. People donate money to distant charities while neglecting those around them. But this isn't how we are built.

I'm not saying we shouldn't donate to far off causes, but I think we need to humanize people and focus on those around us. Plus, we must realize that spiritual poverty is much worse than material poverty. With that point of view, we help the "poor" a lot more by growing in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ and spreading the joy that comes with it, than by only throwing money at things.