Enfleshing Sophia in Hyde Park

Cincinnati's St. Mary of Hyde Park recently announced the speakers for "Lenten Series 2009." On March 7, parishioners can listen to Sr. Marge Kloos disambiguate the benefits of "Prayer in the Wilderness." Who is Sr. Marge Kloos? Last summer she signed a petition circulated by the Women's Ordination Conference opposing the interdiction by then-Archbishop Burke of Sister Louise Lears for her participation in a women's "ordination" ceremony. Here is Sr. Marge's testimony:

Participating fully in God's grace is hardly able to be controlled, manipulated or stopped through disingenuous or punitive reactions against another—even and perhaps especially when done in the name of God. Spirit burrows well beneath the vision of the “surface viewer,” the one who only sees the distinct threat Her positive, spontaneous energy presents to the viewer’s perceived identity of importance, authority and order. Women must bear the scars of institutional oppression, long-designed by other humans to keep women in paralyzing positions of subserviency. Adding to the struggle, women must also bear as burden the responsibility for transforming this oppression. Why? Justice is a core value not easily dismissed in the constellation of spiritual dynamics from which the mature seeker takes direction in discerning matters of the soul. The story is so familiar and so ancient! With gracious humor flowing from deep oneness with Eternal Energy, women row against the tidal wave of patriarchy. However, “Church by intimidation” bears no semblance to the Gospel’s challenging invitation to love at all cost, bear the wounds of the other with compassion, show mercy in all circumstances of human existence, and non-violently incarnate the Living God FOR FULL HUMANITY, enfleshing Sophia’s unending and always-available grace! Perhaps many women are coming to realize that maturing in spirituality leads us farther and farther from the structured reality that once was nourishing. Have we out grown the Church? Has the Church left us? Sadly, many of us console ourselves about today’s Catholic experience by recognizing the amazing, expanding and transforming soul journeys we’ve traveled, despite the obstacles which continue to demean and degrade our full human experience. It seems that the inner-personhood of my sister, Louise, cannot be damaged, deflated, or destroyed—no bishop or institution can take away the inner-energy of God, gathered deep within and experienced as more real than one’s self! It’s so hopeful to imagine the world when power really empowers, authority encourages, and creativity liberates what is bound by fear, distrust, and a need to manufacture an enemy.

There is no other way to be a Roman Catholic

In his February newsletter, Bishop Edward U. Kmiec of Buffalo addresses the arrival of Rochester's Spiritus Christi sect in his diocese. For good measure, he works the SSPX into his piece to make a point about being in communion with the Church.

The Buffalo News recently (Jan. 4, 2009) reported on a group called Spiritus Christi that holds a Eucharistic worship each week as a sort of alternate Catholic Church. A few members of the group, including the presiding priest, remarked that they are Catholics who disagree with some of the requirements for participation in the Eucharist in the Roman Catholic Church. From the tenor of the article in the News, it seems that the Catholic Church is not progressive enough for these worshipers.

A few years after the Second Vatican Council, a French archbishop, Marcel Lefebvre, took the opposite position. He judged that the Council had taken the Roman Catholic Church too far in a progressive direction, so far that no pope since Pius XII has been validly elected and served as pope. While the archbishop and his large number of followers separated from the Church, dialogue has brought some of this traditionalist group back. Perhaps dialogue with the Spiritus Christi worshipers may be fruitful as well.

What Archbishop Lefebvre’s movement and the Spritus Christi movement actually do is to form new Christian denominations, much like the thousands of Christian denominations that have been founded since the Reformation congregations of the 16th century in Europe. It may be impossible to determine today how many Christian denominations there are, since it is fashionable to form new congregations all the time, as soon as a small group disagrees with one or another position of the denomination to which they had belonged.

One of the blessings of the 20th century that continues into the 21st is the ecumenical spirit that pervades among many Christians, a spirit of longing for the unity for which Christ prayed, as recorded in chapter 17 of the Gospel of John: “that all may be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.”

However, one cannot belong to a group such as Spiritus Christi or the traditionalist church of Marcel Lefebvre and at the same time be a faithful Roman Catholic. To be a faithful Catholic, a baptized person commits herself or himself to worship and live the Christian life under the direction of the bishop of the local church (the diocese).

Through the bishop, the local church is in communion with the worldwide college of bishops, who teach the Gospel, celebrate the sacraments, and organize the Church with and under the bishop of Rome, the pope. In this way the Church is one, holy, catholic and apostolic.

There is no other way to be a Roman Catholic. ...

Did Archbishop Lefebvre really hold that "no pope since Pius XII has been validly elected"? I wasn't aware that he or his followers were sedevacantists.

Ratzinger's single most important work

Fr. Raymond J. De Souza has written an essay with the theme of Ratzinger/Benedict as agent provocateur. He cites hitherto unknown details (at least to me) surrounding the promulgation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This being a 'blog somewhat devoted to catechesis, I thought it was worth a mention.

We first saw this clearly in his 1985 interview book The Ratzinger Report. Commenting 20 years after Vatican II, Cardinal Ratzinger deliberately used the word "restoration" to speak about what was necessary to correct post-conciliar abuses. It sparked a fevered debate in the Church and earned criticism from other bishops, but his remarks framed the debate for the synod of bishops that year -- the synod which called forth Ratzinger's single most important work, the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

The Catechism itself is the perfect Ratzingerian provocation. After 20 years of fighting a rearguard action against heterodox catechetical materials, Pope John Paul II and Ratzinger shifted the debate entirely. They produced their own authoritative catechism, which 15 years on, has utterly changed Catholic catechetics the world over. The theological dissenters denounced and opposed the project at every turn, predicting it would never be finished. That one forgets those debates now is an indication of how thoroughly they were routed by Ratzinger's signal project.

Invincible devotion to the faith

In his weekly column, Bishop Matthew Clark lists the many accomplishments of Rochester's founding bishop, Bernard McQuaid. If places like Wichita, Kansas, can become centers of dynamic, orthodox renewal as Rochester once was, it can happen again when my home diocese receives a new shepherd with Bishop McQuaid's "invincible devotion to the faith." Start praying now.

His accomplishments as bishop are far, far too numerous to detail here, but I do commend to you for further reading our own Father Robert McNamara’s excellent history, The Diocese of Rochester in America, which can be purchased by contacting the Catholic Courier. Suffice it to say our first bishop was the consummate builder of remarkable drive and vision, increasing the priesthood many fold with his emphasis on "home-grown" candidates; encouraging an enormous leap in the number of nuns; founding St. Bernard’s Seminary and St. Andrew’s Preparatory; forming a system of care and ministry in Catholic institutions from cradle to grave; engaging the energies and talents of the religious sisters to erect a widely respected, 53-school Catholic school system; and nearly tripling the number of parishes in the fast-growing diocese.

And speaking of accomplishments, Fr. McNamara is no slouch either. This 98-year-old priest, in addition to writing several histories, has penned over 350 lives of the saints for his parish bulletin. You can read about Fr. McNamara's life here and find an index of his "Saints Alive" entries here. The next time our Saints for Young Readers goes missing -- which happens about once a week -- I know what resource we'll use.

Per 100,000

DOR Catholic's Mike created an interesting chart demonstrating the "bumper crop" of vocations in the Midwest:

Cincinnati, at 5.3 seminarians per 100,000, would be either at the far left or in between Wichita and Rochester to the right.

To the dogs

"... And he said to her, "Let the children first be fed, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs." But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." And he said to her, "For this saying you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter." And she went home, and found the child lying in bed, and the demon gone."

"Whoa! Did Jesus just call that lady a dog?"

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"How mean!"

"You might call it a hard saying. Jesus is making a point about faith."

"How?"

"That faith in Jesus can overcome all obstacles -- even a person's sense of inferiority."

"But He called her a dog."

"Little dog, actually, which is gentler. He's softening an expression Jews used for pagans."

"So this woman was a pagan?"

"Yes. Which makes her faith all the more remarkable."

"Still, it seems harsh."

"I suppose it does."

Latin Mass Friday

Remember, tomorrow and every second and fourth Friday of the month the Mass in Latin is celebrated at Cincinnati's St. Cecilia Church:

It's also a good opportunity to remind everyone that there will be a celebration of the Ordinary Form (the "New" Mass) in Latin this Friday at 9 am at Cincinnati's St. Cecilia Church. Fr. Earl Fernandes, Dean of Mount St. Mary of the West Seminary, will be the celebrant. Let's show Frs. Weber (the pastor) and Fernandes how much support there is for dynamically orthodox Catholicism on Cincinnati's East side!

Open letter to the parents of this year's first communicants at St. Mary of Hyde Park

Dear Parents,

One week from tonight, our parish will host its annual "First Communion Bread Night" for first communicants and their families. I strongly discourage you from attending. As parents, you are the primary educators of your children in the Faith. It is a heavy responsibility. The decisions you make now will affect their appreciation for the truths of Catholicism for years to come. It is not for nothing that Jesus calls our faith "the pearl of great price." What is Bread Night? In this quasi-liturgical ritual, attendees are invited to bring a loaf of their favorite bread to the parish and are led through a series of anointing “rites” by the Director of Religious Education. Here is the description of a past participant:

Every child brings a loaf of bread and places it on the table. Any bread you want to bring is allowed, raisin bread, sour dough, etc. They previously provided a recipe. It was the absolute worst! (This confuses what the Church allows in the Mass and what is appropriate matter.)

The DRE lights a candle. Turns off all or most of the lights. She has the children lay down on the floor and close their eyes. She then talks to them about Communion. (I had no problem with what was said up to this point. It was better than in previous years.)

Then one by one she gently touches the children and they are allowed to quietly go and take a loaf of bread and take it back to their parent(s) sitting at the tables. They can then eat it or take it home to share with the rest of the family.

I’m not sure what the purpose of this ritual is. Raising them from the dead? Calling them from their sleep to eat for the journey is long? I don’t know.

NEVER is there talk of the sacrifice of the Mass. How the sacrificial lamb must be consumed in order for the sacrifice to be complete. Only the incidental aspect of a meal is communicated to the children. Perhaps it is covered in the classroom, but this ritual contradicts it.

In his encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia, Pope John Paul II teaches us that the Eucharist is “pre-eminently a sacrifice” and that “[s]tripped of its sacrificial meaning, the mystery is celebrated as if its meaning and importance were simply that of a fraternal banquet.” Pope Benedict put it more succinctly in his 23 June 2008 homily at the Quebec Eucharistic Conference: “The Eucharist is not a meal among friends.” Everything about “Bread Night” conveys that the Eucharist is indeed a mere meal among friends, a “fraternal banquet” of our own making.

Rather than attend, you might spend time teaching your children about the Eucharist from one of the many reliable guides that are available. The books Today I Made My First Communion by Dianne Ahern and The Little Catechism on the Eucharist by New Hope Publications are excellent resources. You could also spend time in Eucharistic Adoration at the Holy Spirit Center in nearby Norwood, Ohio. A fellow parishioner and I are scheduling a discussion for parents of the USCCB's "Happy Are Those Who Are Called to His Supper," a short teaching document that explains the connection between Confession and the Eucharist. More information about this event will be distributed next week.

Pope John Paul II wrote, "family catechesis precedes, accompanies, and enriches all other forms of catechesis." Use the time you devote to this catechesis wisely.

Regards,

Rich Leonardi, fellow parent of a first communicant

P.S. You can find related posts at this link.

Time after time ...

Today's Columbus Dispatch runs a story about the Vatican's new emphasis on indulgences. My comments are in red.

Catholics who want to minimize their time in purgatory are getting their chance.

[The Church doesn't describe purgatory in terms of time.]

The Vatican has authorized bishops to offer plenary indulgences during the celebration of St. Paul, which runs through June.

These indulgences allow Catholics to avoid time in purgatory, at least for sins they've committed up to that point.

[Again, the time reference. And of course there is no "preemptive" indulgence for sins yet committed.]

Catholicism teaches that purgatory is a place where souls are purified before going to heaven. Catholics can be forgiven for their sins but still face purgatory.

[The Church does not speak of purgatory as a "place"; it is a process of final purification. See CCC 1031.]

It's not a place of suffering, said Leo Madden, a professor of theology at Ohio Dominican University. He borrowed an explanation from C.S. Lewis, saying purgatory is like a "good scrub-down" to remove the muck before you can be with God.

[Not bad; the bathing analogy is one I've used with the kids.]

Indulgences fell out of popularity after the reforms of the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s, and church leaders acknowledge that many Catholics might not know what they are.

[Too true. Unfortunately, they won't hear about them from the lectern in most parishes.]

The Church teaches that an indulgence may be granted when a Catholic undertakes prayer, a pilgrimage or an act of charity.

[The reporter still hasn't really defined what an indulgence is.]

In the Columbus diocese, Catholics who attend a designated event celebrating St. Paul at one of his namesake parishes or at the Saints Peter and Paul Retreat Center receive the indulgence, said Deacon Tom Berg Jr., vice chancellor of the diocese.

While the Church offers the indulgences, nobody keeps track of who gets one. It's a matter between the Catholic and God.

Local parishes have been instructed to tell their members about the opportunity.

[Good. It could prove to be a productive catechetical effort.]

An indulgence is not a "get-out-of-jail-free card," Berg said.

"It's an experience of spiritual enrichment," he said.

[But not until they know what it is. ...]

The indulgence is another indicator that Pope Benedict XVI is encouraging traditional Catholic practices, such as Latin Mass, that were more widespread before the Second Vatican Council, Madden said.

The tradition has a controversial history, spurring the Reformation in protest of the Church selling indulgences in the 16th century.

["The Church" didn't sell them; some Church members in defiance of Church law sold them.]

The practice of selling indulgences was outlawed centuries ago, but the idea remains that the Catholic Church can help its members achieve the benefits of God's grace, Madden said.

[It was never legal to sell them. The Council of Trent did institute clear reforms aimed at curbing abuses. See this little myth-busting primer from Catholic Answers.]

What's unclear is whether today's rank-and-file Catholics really understand indulgences or how to pursue one.

"I think most American Catholics believe indulgences were stricken from the catechism since Vatican II," said Madden. He said the indulgences were not rejected by the council, even if they fell out of favor.

[Catechize, catechize, catechize.]

Pope John Paul II did authorize indulgences as part of the Church's Jubilee celebration in 2000.

Indulgences are complicated and often misunderstood, even by Catholics. Most Catholics educated in the faith after the Second Vatican Council don't know much about them, said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, spokeswoman for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Connie Danison, 71, of Gahanna, became a Catholic six years ago and attends Mass nearly every week.

She thinks a return to tradition is positive, but she didn't know about the current indulgence offer tied to St. Paul's celebration.

"I basically know what they are, but they just don't really talk about them anymore," she said. "I just haven't really thought about it as being an option, I guess, to get out of purgatory early."

[It's like Confession. If pastors preach and make it available, the people will come. If they spend their time on other matters -- chili cook-offs, for instance - the people won't.]

The church also can offer partial indulgences, through which time off in purgatory is sometimes measured in a certain number of years.

[Uggh. The time fixation.]

It's that bookkeeping mentality that irks some critics.

[Here it comes ...]

Indulgences are intended to cultivate a heightened sense of the believer's own sinfulness and need for God's grace, said Richard Gaillardetz, a professor of Catholic studies at the University of Toledo.

But an earthly understanding of time can't be translated into the afterlife, he said.

"I have difficulty with the fact it so often encourages people to think about God's grace and God's goodness in measurable quantities," he said.

[Perhaps if Professor Gaillardetz spent less time on pet causes like women's ordination and more time catechizing his students on the elements of the faith, fewer people would think in those terms.]

What comes out of the man

The next time someone tells you the Church is pharasaically obsessed with sin and that "gentle Jesus meek and mild" is about accepting people as they are, show him today's Gospel reading:

Jesus summoned the crowd again and said to them, "Hear me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person; but the things that come out from within are what defile." When he got home away from the crowd his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, "Are even you likewise without understanding? Do you not realize that everything that goes into a person from outside cannot defile, since it enters not the heart but the stomach and passes out into the latrine?" (Thus he declared all foods clean.) "But what comes out of the man, that is what defiles him. From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile."

"I see hell"

Zenit's Fr. McNamara explains what the International Commission on English in the Liturgy (ICEL) is and what it is supposed to do. It's a good argument for reverting to Latin.

ICEL is an instrument in the hands of the bishops' conferences. It is designed to provide, as far as possible, a uniform and high-quality English translation of the official Latin texts. The idea is to pool resources by selecting highly qualified translators and experts so as to produce reverent and singable English translations that are also literarily and theologically faithful to the original.

It is important to note, however, that ICEL offers its translations to the bishops. It has no authority of its own to officially approve a translation nor produce new texts or modify the official texts in any way.

Because of the number of bishops' conferences involved, the approval process for a new translation is inevitably complex. The process involves each episcopal conference separately examining a first draft and sending suggested modifications back to ICEL, which must then rework the text and send a definitive translation back to the bishops.

When a bishops' conference receives a definitive ICEL text it is once more placed before the body of bishops. A two-thirds majority of each bishops' conference is required for approval. At this stage the bishops may still make further modifications to the text as well as approve any adaptations of the translations. They may also opt not to use ICEL's translations and attempt to produce their own. Any such modifications would apply only within the territory of this particular conference.

Once a bishops' conference has approved the translation it goes to the Holy See, which may confirm the text as it is, but it may also introduce modifications of its own. This would be the case, for example, if some aspect of the translation is deemed unsatisfactory or if the Holy See desires that there be a single common version of a particular formula. The Holy See then sends the definitive text back to each bishops' conference which promulgates the new translation in that country.

The Holy See may also approve any adaptations or new texts composed by the bishops' conference for each particular country. These variant texts will only be printed in the missal issued for that country.

It's also a good opportunity to remind everyone that there will be a celebration of the Ordinary Form (the "New" Mass) in Latin this Friday at 9 am Cincinnati's St. Cecilia Church. Fr. Earl Fernandes, Dean of Mount St. Mary of the West Seminary, will be the celebrant. Let's show Frs. Weber (the pastor) and Fernandes how much support there is for dynamically orthodox Catholicism on Cincinnati's East side!

Local girl does bad

CNA reports that abortion rights extremist and proud alumna of Cincinnati Country Day Kathleen Sebelius is a strong contender for Obama's Health and Human Services head:

Washington DC, Feb 10, 2009 / 06:02 am (CNA).- Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, a Catholic Democrat in favor of legalized abortion, is considered to be a possible nominee to head the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Sebelius has faced significant criticism for her promotion of abortion, including her connections to notorious Kansas late-term abortionist Dr. George Tiller.

The 60-year-old governor had backed President Barack Obama in his primary race against former New York Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The Associated Press reports that a Kansas Democrat close to the governor, speaking under condition of anonymity, said Sebelius had not spoken about the position in recent days but appeared to be a strong contender. ...

.

Facebook

'Gone and did it.

Fruit of the vine

Today's Democrat & Chronicle features a fascinating story about Rochester's vintner-bishop, Bernard McQuaid. And folks, please don't turn this into an opportunity to catalogue the diocese's current problems; just enjoy the story.

McQuaid, who arrived here in 1868, bought the 500-acre farm overlooking Hemlock Lake "early in his Rochester career," the Rev. Robert McNamara explains in his history of the diocese. It served as a personal retreat, especially in the summer, and was one of the few places where he could entertain visiting church dignitaries.

Meanwhile "a staff of farmers carried on the truck-farming and stock-raising which eventually provided (St. Bernard's Seminary) with fruit, vegetables, mutton and milk."

Eighty acres were devoted to a vineyard, which began doing business as the O-Neh-Da winery in 1872. O-Neh-Da, McQuaid had been told, was the Seneca name for Hemlock Lake, or for the namesake trees that covered the slopes around it.

The winery fulfilled an important need of Catholic churches, since canon law required that wine used at altars be made from 100 percent pure grape, with no corn sweeteners or other material added. "It was just too difficult at that time to get quality wine that was 'valid and licit' for sacramental purposes," Beckmann said. "It was too difficult to bring it in from out of the area."

Initially, the vines were grown on very steep slopes, under supervision of Dutch and German immigrants who had settled in the area and were accustomed to the practice in Europe. The theory was that this would cause pockets of cold air to quickly drain off, down to the lake, without damaging the vines, explained John Cicero of Livonia, a former winemaker at Eagle Crest, now retired from Genesee Brewing, who still grows grapes for the winery.

That would change with the advent of tractors and machine pickers, which require less slope.

Nonetheless, "if you walk into the woods below the winery building, you can still see the terracing," Beckmann noted. ...

Red letter office

Barb at SFO Mom has an intriguing Valentine's Day idea:

Get a red envelope. On the front, address it to:

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

On the back of the envelope, write the following message.

This envelope represents one child who died in abortion. It is empty because that life was unable to offer anything to the world. Responsibility begins with conception.

Put it in the mail, and send it. Then forward this to every one of your friends who you think would send one too. I wish we could send 50 million red envelopes, one for every child who died before having a chance to live. Maybe it will change the heart of the president.

Tip, Lee.

No weight of their own

The subject of the authority of episcopal conferences and their documents has come up in two recent exchanges. While the Neo-Gallicanism of the 1980s, which treated conference pronouncements as the products of a national Magesterium, has subsided in much of the universal Church in recent decades, it still has a pulse. With that in mind, I reproduce some key paragraphs from the section "The problem of episcopal conferences" in The Ratzinger Report:

“... We must not forget that the episcopal conferences have no theological basis, they do not belong to the structure of the Church, as willed by Christ, that cannot be eliminated; they have only a practical, concrete function.”

It is, moreover, he says, what is confirmed in the new Code of Canon Law, which prescribes the extent of the authority of the conferences, which cannot validly act “in the name of all the bishops unless each and every bishop has given his consent”, unless it concerns “cases in which the common law prescribes it or a special mandate of the Apostolic See … determines it” (CIC, Can. 455, 4 and I). The collective, therefore, does not substitute for the persons of the bishops, who - recalls the Code, confirming the Council - are “the authentic teachers and instructors of the faith for the faithful entrusted to their care” (cf. CIC Can. 753). Ratzinger confirms: “No episcopal conference, as such, has a teaching mission; its documents have no weight of their own save that of the consent given to them by the individual bishops.”

Why does the Prefect insist upon this point? “Because”, he replies, “it is a matter of safeguarding the very nature of the Catholic Church, which is based on an episcopal structure and not on a kind of federation of national churches. The national level is not an ecclesial dimension. It must once again become clear that in each diocese there is only one shepherd and teacher of the faith communion with other pastors and teachers and with the Vicar of Christ. The Catholic Church is based on the balance between the community and the person, in this case between the community of individual particular churches united in the universal Church and the person of the responsible head of the diocese.”

“It happens,” he says, “that with some bishops there is a certain lack of a sense of individual responsibility, and the delegation of his inalienable powers as shepherd and teacher to the structures of the local conference leads to letting what should remain very personal lapse into anonymity. The group of bishops united in the conferences depends in their decisions upon other groups, upon commissions that have been established to prepare draft proposals. It happens then that the search for agreement between the different tendencies and the effort at meditation often yield flattened documents in which decisive positions (where they might be necessary) are weakened.”

'Plenty of blood left in that shirt

The print and online editions of the Cincinnati Enquirer feature several letters objecting to Archbishop Pilarczyk's courageous stand against the University of Cincinnati's "Sexploration." To a man every writer drags the priest abuse scandal of 2002 into the debate. See examples here, here, and here -- the last is from this morning's print edition.

UPDATE. Reader Theresa reminds us that we can thank His Excellency at the linked email address.