The Pope Should Read This Article To Appreciate His Own Realities

The article published by news24.com  on November 30, 2017, entitled 'Who is the pope?' ask Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh  is quoted below in its entirety [1]:

Cox's Bazar - The plight of Rohingya refugees is the backdrop to Pope Francis' landmark visit to Myanmar and Bangladesh this week. But in the vast refugee camps on the border, there is puzzlement, with many asking: "Who is he?"

The head of the Catholic church has repeatedly spoken out in support of the Rohingya, a stateless Muslim minority who have fled to Bangladesh in their hundreds of thousands, bringing with them allegations of murders, rapes and arson committed by the Myanmar military.

This week he met Myanmar's leader Aung San Suu Kyi and army chief Min Aung Hlaing, who is accused of overseeing brutal campaign to drive out the group that the UN and US have labelled "ethnic cleansing".

With his message of hope and tolerance, supporters hope the pope's presence can tamp down the religious and ethnic hatreds that have roiled the region.

Yet in the teeming Bangladeshi camps near the border with Myanmar, mention of the pontiff drew blank faces and raised eyebrows.

Shown a photo, refugees shrugged and guessed him to be anyone from a wealthy king or a celebrity from the US to a Bangladeshi politician. Some mistook his zucchetto for an Islamic skullcap and said he could be a Muslim leader.

"I think I've seen him in the news but what does he do? Is he important?" asked 42-year-old Nurul Qadar.

Pope Francis, who arrives in Bangladesh on Thursday from mainly Buddhist Myanmar, is the first pontiff in 31 years to visit Bangladesh and has called the Rohingya his "brothers and sisters".

He is not  due to visit the camps but will meet a small group of Rohingya refugees during an interfaith meeting in Dhaka on Friday. [Emphasis  added.]

More than 620 000 Rohingya have poured into the poor, overpopulated country since the start of a violent crackdown by the army in August.

They are denied almost all basic human rights in Myanmar including the right to practise their religion, travel and marry freely.

'A very wise man'

On learning of the pope's role in the world, refugees AFP spoke to said they hoped Francis would be able to broker a deal with Myanmar that would pave the way for a safe return to their homeland.

Maybe the government in Myanmar "might actually listen to him", mused 40-year-old Mujibur Rahman.

Hassan Arraf, a Rohingya imam at Kutupalong refugee camp in Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh, and the only one out of dozens who knew of the pope, said the Argentinian pontiff with his man-of-the-people reputation had the power to change their lives.

"The way they tortured us, no religion allows it. He is a big leader of another religion but I believe he's a very wise man," he told AFP.

"I think he will be able to understand what we went through. And he can ask the Myanmar government to resolve this matter and make the place peaceful."

Caritas, the Catholic Church's humanitarian arm which is helping to feed 40 000 families in the camps, said it hoped the pope's visit would at least help lift the spirits of the community.

"He is coming... as a symbol of reconciliation. We are hoping his visit will bear a very positive impact and create a very good solution between the two countries," James Gomes, regional director of Caritas, told AFP.

When given information about this unfamiliar robed figure, many refugees said the pope should go to the squalid, overcrowded camps in southern Bangladesh to witness their suffering. [Emphasis added.]

"If his visit is about us, then he should come here to meet us and talk to us. He should see how we are living, how we barely survived," said Hami Tusang as he queued for food. [Emphasis  added.]

Another man behind him, Azim Ullah, said he wanted to "complain to the pope of the relentless torture we face in Rakhine". [Emphasis  added.]

"Being such a big leader, he must be seeing what we have been through. Every bad thing you can think of has happened to us," he said, making a cutting motion across his throat. [Emphasis  added.]

"He needs to be our bridge. He needs to demand our rights, our citizenship. Otherwise there is no point of such visits."  [Emphasis  added.]

[1] https://www.news24.com/World/News/who-is-the-pope-ask-rohingya-refugees-in-bangladesh-20171130

Deaths And A KIdnapping In Bangladesh Ahead Of Pope's Arrival On November 30, 2017

"Three suspected Islamist extremists were killed on Tuesday [November 28, 2017,] in a raid by Bangladesh police as security was stepped up before Pope [Francis'] landmark visit to the Muslim-majority nation, officials said." [1]  The very next day, November 29, 2017, a Catholic priest went missing, according to a report published by channelnewsasia.com.  Part of the article is quoted below [2]:

DHAKA: A Catholic priest has disappeared in Bangladesh, police said on Wednesday (Nov 29), as the Muslim-majority country stepped up security ahead of a landmark visit by Pope Francis that follows a rise in extremist attacks on religious minorities.

Walter William Rosario, a 40-year-old priest and headmaster of a Catholic school, went missing on Monday in a village in northern Bangladesh where suspected extremists last year hacked a Catholic grocer to death.

Gerves Rosario, bishop of the nearby city of Rajshahi, said he believed the priest had been kidnapped and that Catholics in the region were deeply worried.

"He was organising for around 300 Catholics to travel to Dhaka to see the Pope and attend his holy mass. But his disappearance has marred their joy. They don't want to go to Dhaka any more," he said. 

News of his disappearance comes as Bangladesh tightens security in the capital Dhaka ahead of the arrival Thursday of the first pontiff to visit Bangladesh in more than three decades.

Police in Natore district said they had launched a major search for Rosario after his family reported him missing.

"He has been missing since late Monday. His mobile has been switched off," local police chief Biplob Bijoy Talukder told AFP.

The family received a phone call from someone using the missing man's number to demand a ransom, but Talukder said police believed this was a hoax.

They have not ruled out the possibility he was abducted by extremists, who have carried out attacks on religious minorities in the region in the past four years.

'OUR JOY IS GONE'

Since 2015 at least three Christians, including two converts from Islam, have been hacked to death in attacks blamed on the militant Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).

Bikash Hubert Rebeiro, the priest in Bonpara village where Rosario grew up, described him as a "good man" whose disappearance had cast a pall over the pope's visit.

"Our joy is gone," he told AFP by phone. "Everyone in the village is shocked. His elderly mother has [been] crying non stop."

Rebeiro said Rosario's family was friendly with the relatives of Sunil Gomes, the Catholic grocer murdered outside his shop last year.

...

In July last year militants stormed a Dhaka cafe and massacred 22 hostages including 18 foreigners in an attack claimed by the Islamic State militant group. 

The government has denied the international group's involvement. Since the attack, security forces have killed more than 70 alleged militants in a crackdown condemned by rights activists and opposition parties.

This blogger's November 6, 2017, post recommended that Bergoglio "save everybody some trouble by staying in Vatican City and donate all his traveling expenses that he would otherwise incur to Kamal Hossain to continue his saintly work in helping Rohingya children locate their parents." [3]  Perhaps he should have done just that.  Who knows if any more bad things will happen during his visit in Bangladesh and before, during and after the Mass he is planning to hold there.

On the bright side, bdnews24.com  has this headline: "Bangladesh ready to welcome Pope Francis with ceremonial fanfare" that was published on "2017-11-30 02:05:17.0 BdST." [4]  Will the pope even mention the kidnapping of his priest and console the priest's heart-broken mother?  Should he consider possibly saying a funeral mass should there be a confirmation that the priest was killed?  Soon the world would know.

What pains the soul is that Bergoglio's appearance in Bangladesh will be largely symbolic--he has not been scheduled to go to the Rohingya refugee camp and walk among the refugees.  This will be his itinerary [5]:

The 80-year old pontiff will be the first pope to set foot here in 30 years with Pope John Paul II being the last one to pay a visit in 1986.

Francis, who is now in Myanmar, will fly to Dhaka on Thursday and land at the Shahjalal International Airport at 3pm to begin his three-day official visit.

President Md Abdul Hamid will welcome the 266th and current pope. A guard of honour along with a 21-gun salute will be given to the pope.

Pope Francis will head to the National Memorial in Savar to pay tributes to the 1971 Liberation War martyrs.  He will then visit the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman museum in Dhanmondi. 

He will have a private meeting with President Abdul Hamid at the Bangabhaban.

Francis is scheduled to meet Cabinet members and diplomats at the Darbar Hall inside Bangabhaban. He will stay at the Vatican embassy in Baridhara overnight.

On the second day of his official tour, Francis will lead a mass at a rally at Suhrawardy Udyan. After that, he will meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at the Vatican embassy.

Later in the day, he will hold a meeting with bishops at Ramna Cathedral in Kakrail and attend sessions there to preach communal harmony.

On Saturday, he will visit the Mother Teresa Homes in Tejgaon. The visit will be followed by meetings with priests and religious leaders at the Holy Rosary Church. Pope Francis will visit the graveyard there afterwards. 

In the afternoon, he will attend a session to exchange views with the youths at the Notre Dame College.

He will leave Dhaka at 5pm Saturday after being seen off by Foreign Minister AH Mahmood Ali at the airport.

What a pitiful itinerary for someone whose purpose for his present existence is to act like Christ, to be among those who are suffering, if not to heal them but at least to embrace and love them.



[1] https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/three-alleged-islamists-killed-in-bangladesh-before-popes-visit/articleshow/61833312.cms, quoted without hyperlinks.
[2] http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/bangladesh-priest-disappearance-casts-pall-over-pope-visit-9451900
[3] http://lemomentdepaix.blogspot.com/2017/11/rohingya-refugees-stateless-but-not.html
[4] https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2017/11/30/bangladesh-ready-to-welcome-pope-francis-with-ceremonial-fanfare

The Latin Mass

This entry quotes an article written by Father Carota who " passed away in July of 2016." [1]  May he remain in God's loving presence forever.

The article is entitled A Priest’s View Of Latin Mass Vs. New Mass, published by Father Carota on January 25, 2015, is quoted below in its entirety without photographs or bullet points [2], [3] and without comment:

Constantly I hear from people that they do not go to the Latin Mass because they do not understand Latin.  (Some even think that the homily is in Latin.)  So please, just for now, let us put aside the argument of the language; Latin or English and go to the prayers and actions that are part of the rubrics of the two masses.  Let us also look at who is the center of focus and the way the people participate, dress and receive God in Holy Communion at the two masses.

As a priest, I want to re-clarify what are the differences on how Jesus is treated in the two masses.   This will be from my own stand point as a priest who has for years celebrated the New Mass in English and Spanish, and now, for the last 7 years offered the Ancient Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

Most Catholics judge the two masses from their own subjective perspective and preferences.  They are not priests.  They are not offering the two masses and have no idea what it is like from the experience of the priest who offers the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass.

From my view up on the altar, the difference between the Ancient Mass and the New Mass is like day and night.  Archbishop Sample, from Portland Oregon, put it well when he said at the Sacra Liturgia Conference in Rome, that he wants all of his priests to learn and offer the Latin Mass because of the effect it has on them understanding their role as priests.  He said that offering the Holy Latin Mass has changed him completely and now he finally  understands the sacrificial aspect of his priesthood.

I know, for the average Catholic who has had very little to no experience with the Latin Mass, the New Mass is just fine because it is all they have ever known or at which they feel comfortable and “at home with”.  All over the world, the New Mass is all any Catholic is able to go to.  That is all they know and that is all the knowledge they have to judge with.

The orthodox Neo-Cats who are not traditional Catholics, are constantly complaining about the grave liturgical abuses by priests who do not follow the essential rubrics found in the New Roman Missal.  Like when the celebrant changes the words of consecration, does not say the Creed at Sunday Mass, will not genuflect when required, gives communion to everyone, including non Catholics, who comes up at funerals or wedding, and all the other grave abuses they experience at the New Mass.

But in essence, and for the most part, they are satisfied with the New Mass.  Some Neo-Cats would prefer the New Mass in Latin or maybe said “ad orientam”.

Here is a list of observations I have made while offering the Ancient Mass and the New Mass together. 

The whole focus of the Holy Latin Mass is on;

adoring God,
being at Calvary at the real un-bloody Sacrifice of Jesus being re-made present on the Cross,
the priest asking Jesus to intercede to God His Father for the forgiveness of our sins,
humbly praying that at this Sacrifice we may receive His salvation and graces.

At the Sacrifice of the Holy Latin Mass, it is obvious that;

God the Father is acting through Jesus His Son,
Jesus is acting through the priest, in Persona Christi,
There is hierarchy in Latin Mass, bishop, priest, religious, altar boys, lay people, like what is found in God’s Kingdom and the Catholic Church.
The priest has the special role in praying to God.
The priest prays in secret and in a low voice the sacred part of the Canon and the words of consecration.
People accompany Mary and the Apostle St. John in contemplation at the foot of the cross, while Jesus is offering His life in sacrifice to the Father for our salvation.
The people are assisting at Jesus’ Sacrifice on the cross for them.
People humbly and passively receive God’s graces through interior prayer.
People humbly receive Jesus in Holy Communion kneeling and on the tongue.
People pray and absorb the effects the Divine Mystery of the Holy Mass in silence.
The Choir is up in the Choir loft accompanying the people in sacred songs.
The choir sings anonymously for the glory of God and not to show off for the crowd.
The Choir sings acapella or are accompanied by organ music.
Gregorian Chant is sung to lift up people’s souls to God.

There is only one way to offer the Holy Latin Mass and the rubrics must be obeyed.
There are way more genuflections, bows and blessing to God done by the priest.
No one, except the priest, can touch the Holy Chalice or Paten because they are consecrated to be only used to hold God’s Body and Blood.
Once the priest has said the words of consecration, he never separates the thumbs and index fingers so that if by any chance there are tiny fragments of the Body of Jesus, they do not fall on the Altar or floor.
The priest only drinks the Precious Blood of Jesus from one side of the Chalice so that when he will purify it, he can be sure he purifies where the Blood ran.
When receiving the Body of Christ, the priest puts the paten under his chin incase any particles may fall on the altar.
He scrapes the corporal with the paten to be sure if at any time a particle of the Body of Christ ended on the corporal, he can put it into the chalice and be consumed with the Blood of Christ.
Every time after the consecration, when the priest uncovers the chalice, he puts his fingers on the chalice so that it may never fall over and spill the Precious Blood of Jesus.
The Body of Christ is only given with the assistance of the altar boy holding the paten so that no crumbs of Jesus may fall on the floor.
No one ever touches God in Holy Communion, other than the priest.
All people are obliged to kneel and receive Jesus on the tongue.
After Holy Communion, the priest purifies the Chalice twice, once with wine and again with wine and water to be sure that he gets every drop of Jesus Precious Blood purified.
The priest purifies the thumbs and index fingers with water and wine into the chalice to get any tiny particle of host into the chalice and consumed.
People kneel in adoration and thanksgiving after Holy Communion.
People pray and do not speak inside the church.
Women cover their heads with veils.
People dress in there Sunday best, very respectfully and modestly.

The New Mass is focused on God, but at the same time, very much focused on the people.

Instead of the focus of the Celebrant being in Persona Christi, his focus is on representing and presiding in the name of the congregation.
The Celebrant faces the people, not God.
In all reality, the Celebrant is the center of the “show”.  Often he will make jokes.
Little in the words of the New Mass are there much about the Sacrificial aspect of the mass.
The new mass is centered much more on the “Remembering at the Last Supper”.
There is no altar for a priestly sacrifice, just a wooden table.
The presider always prays out loud so that people can hear him.
The focus is on the people being very active by responding, hugging, standing, sitting, kneeling, singing and walking in procession to receive Holy Communion.
There are many people envolved in the New Mass, like the Lectors and Extraordinary Eucharistic ministers.
Many people are in or walk around the Sanctuary, like the Rock Band or other Choir members.
Every kind of music and singing is allowed.
The choir and musicians perform for the people and face them.
The music played and sung are to make people feel happy, good, warm, and excited.
Clapping is encouraged to congratulate people or while singing songs.
Children and other people are often invited up around the altar to pray with the presider.
Everyone loves it because the focus is on the cute children and the people.
The celebrant sits at the presiders chair facing the people, not God.
Everything is very external and not contemplative.
Very little silence.
Very little kneeling in adoration of God.
The New Roman Missal has so many “pastoral” options in how to celebrate the mass.
Many women come to mass dressed in sexy clothes, low necks, tight pants and shorts.
Men come dressed in shorts.
Lectors and Extraordinary ministers sometimes go up on the altar in sexy or inappropriate clothing.
Before and after mass, people and priests talk and visit loudly in church.

At the New Mass,

Most people receive Holy Communion.
They receive standing.
They receive Jesus in the hand.
Everyone has to stand until everyone has gone up together in procession to receive Holy Communion.
There is very little time allowed after Holy Communion to meditate and thank God for coming into their souls.
People usually sit and do not kneel after receiving Holy Communion.
Large host are used to show that we are all one body, and when they are broken, large particles shoot all over the corporal, altar and floor.  It has happened to me.
Very rarely are patens used to catch the falling Body of Christ or crumbs.
The floors of Catholic churches are full of particles of the Body of Christ that fall on the ground from the hands of people who receive in the hand and are being walked on by all the people.
Everyone takes hold of the chalice given to them by the minister to receive the Blood of Christ.
Many times the Precious Blood of Christ is spilled on people or the floor.
Only priests are to purify the sacred vessels at mass, but often they are left for others to purify.
The purification of the chalice is with water only.
It is impossible for the priest to purify where all the people received from the upper most parts of the chalice that is rotated while administrating the Precious Blood by the Extraordinary Ministers.

The final question (and the answer should make everyone who reads this article want to only go to the Holy Latin Mass) is:  Do we truly believe that God/Jesus is in the Holy Sacrament of the Altar?  If so God deserves adoration, respect and protection.

As a priest who says the New Mass and the Latin Mass, the Latin Mass has by far more rubrics built right into the Latin Mass to protect the Body and Blood of Jesus from being desecrated in any manner.  It clearly has the strong sacrificial component of the Holy Mass and priesthood.  It does not have the protestant emphasis on the Last Supper and “doing this in remembrance of Me” like the Luther advocated.  It also has prayers and gestures that facilitate more easily the adoration that Jesus deserves from us His creatures.  And because of this, the Latin Mass pleases God way more than the New Mass.

[1] http://www.traditionalcatholicpriest.com/2015/01/29/priests-view-latin-mass-vs-new-mass/
[2] Ibid.
[3] As an aside, this article was copied and pasted while listening to "Confiteor" and "Kyrie eleison" being chanted in Latin on You Tube.  This is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBgjhseP_fs.  For those who do not already know, it can be set on "loop" by right-clicking.

Pope In Myanmar

The news headlines of the world seem to focus on the pope's reluctance to identify the refugees fleeing Myanmar during his visit to the country.  From BBC News: "Pope's Myanmar speech avoids reference to Rohingya" [1]; from economictimes.indiatimes.com: "Pope's Myanmar visit: Will he talk about the Rohingya issue?" [2]; from The New York Times: "In Myanmar, Pope Francis Calls for Peace Without Saying ‘Rohingya’" [3], and so on.

The headlines ought to be "Pope did not once mention Christ in his speech," since without Christ, there would be no Vatican, and the head of state of Vatican City State would not exist, and Bergoglio could not assume his favorite identity, that of a savvy politician.  But then one ought not be surprised since the media is objective, and does not favor any one religion over another and if that is to be believed, why are there hardly any news articles written about the Japanese Shinto religion, is it because "Shintoists do not have a central leader"? [4]  Is this even general knowledge?

Returning to the subject of Rohingya, Harvard Divinity School stated that "[t]he Rohingya is a Sunni Muslim ethnic minority in Myanmar and Bangladesh." [5]  Another source stated that "The Rohingya people practice Sunni Islam with elements of Sufi worship." [6]  Since this could be considered a different religion from Sunni Islam, has the media published reports on it as often as it reports on the activities of a Catholic pope?

The pope ought to be given credit since he has put the spotlight on the Rohingya refugees by traveling to Myanmar and soon to Bangladesh.  Without him there would not be this many headlines focusing of the plight of the refugees.  When they are out of sight of the media, they will be out of the collective mind of the world at large, even when there are Rohingha people with love in their hearts, love that God does not ignore.



[1] http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-42152146
[2] https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/world-news/popes-myanmar-visit-will-he-talk-about-the-rohingya-issue/articleshow/61816473.cms
[3] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/28/world/asia/pope-francis-myanmar-rohingya.html
[4] https://www.reference.com/world-view/leaders-shinto-religion-fa769870b19c392b#
[5] https://rlp.hds.harvard.edu/faq/rohingya
[6] http://factsanddetails.com/southeast-asia/Myanmar/sub5_5d/entry-3057.html

Confession

For someone who has not entered a confessional for quite some time, confession is a very difficult topic.  The need to confess sins and for absolution are important, as is true repentance.

If one sins habitually, is there true repentance?  If there is no true repentance, can a confession be genuine?  If true repentance is not possible for a sinner, then does one who goes to confession make a mockery of it?

"Msgr. Richard Lavalley [is a] pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish in Winooski, [Vermont, USA]." [1], [2]  An article entitled Priests offer tips for Catholics long absent from the confessional  dated February 16, 2013, published by Catholic News Agency, referring to Msgr. Lavalley, inspired this entry.  It is quoted in part [3]:

Lavalley, ordained in 1964, still remembers a confession from his first year as a priest. He was hearing confessions from students at the parish grade school, and one boy was among the last to be brought in.

"This kid's behind the screen. He's not talking to me. He's just breathing. 'Do you want to go to confession?' (No response.) 'Do you want to tell me what your sins are?' 'No.' 'Why?' 'Because you know what my sins are.' 'How?' 'Because I did them before.' "

Just like that boy, Lavalley told CNS, penitents are habitual sinners.

"Everyone's a habitual sinner, and so am I," he said. "It's not about sin, it's about mercy and about God's love."

Lavalley remembers himself as a grade-schooler making comparisons among the priests in his parish about which ones handed out sterner or lighter penances.

But he recalled one experience with a priest that "made me the confessor that I am. He was so kind and so wonderful, and I never forgot the penance he gave me. He said, 'Can you say the name of Jesus once? I'll say it for you.' And he did it without sarcasm.

"That changed my life."

What troubles this blogger is the habitual sinning.  If one is unable to repent one's sins for good, then what is the point of confessing the same sins over and over, just like the boy, who probably was truly regretful for having committed sins, but sat in silence in the confessional, and felt that it was redundant to confess the same things he had done before, and that he knew he would do again?

On the flip side, how often and how long does a priest actually occupy the confessional, especially on Sunday when one Mass seem to be scheduled soon after another has ended?  How can all penitents attending Mass who wish to confess before receiving Holy Communion can actually confess within the time after one Mass has ended and before the next one begins?

There are priests on You Tube who speak of confession, citing the Bible, but they do not tell people that a priest would be available to hear confession at any time that is reasonable from anyone wishing to confess.  Perhaps saying the Confiteor [4], [5] at Mass ought to be enough, but it is not said at all Masses.  Saying the Confiteor ought to be mandatory at all Masses, but if this is enough, it would circumvent the need for an individual confession and a personal absolution of the penitent.

This may be harsh, but for any priest to find himself good enough to lecture Catholics on You Tube on the need to go to confession, he ought to learn first from the one true confessor, the Curé d'Ars, St. Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney, who "spent ordinarily from sixteen to eighteen hours daily in the confessional, in winter with his feet on an unheated stone floor; and the rest of his time in preaching, prayer, and teaching catechism in the church." [6]

In other words, Catholics who do not go to confession are not the only ones to blame, the priest himself ought to bear half the responsibility, at least.  Returning to the saint, Jean-Marie-Baptiste Vianney, Curé d'Ars, the following is quoted in part from a website cited under footnote [7]:

From the year 1827, there began the famous stream of pilgrims to Ars.  People went to Ars from all parts of France, from Belgium, from England and even from America.  The principal motive which led all these crowds of pilgrims to the priest of Ars was purely the desire for him to hear their confession and to receive spiritual counsel from him.  They were driven to his thronged confessional by the longing to meet once and for all the priest who knew all about the reality of the soul.  The priest of Ars possessed the ability to see the human soul in its nakedness, freed of its body.  This grace is only rarely bestowed on men.  He never put his nose into the spiritual affairs of other people.  He was entirely free from inquisitiveness.  Like St. Francis de Sales, he had the gift of "seeing everything and not looking at anyone."  In confessing people this holy man, who had a fundamental knowledge of sin, strove after one thing only – to save souls.  This was his ardent desire, and for the sake of it he suffered all the tortures of his daylong confinement in the confessional.  This great saint heard confessions from 13 to 17 hours a day, and could tell a penitent's sins even when they were withheld.  In order to save souls one must be possessed of that holy love of men which consumed the priest of Ars.  He would often weep in the confessional and when he was asked why he wept, he would reply:  "My friend, I weep because you do not weep."

Where is today's equivalent of the Curé d'Ars?



[1] https://www.ncronline.org/news/spirituality/priests-offer-tips-catholics-long-absent-confessional
[2] http://www.sfxvt.org/faculty-staff/monsignorlavalley
[3] https://www.ncronline.org/news/spirituality/priests-offer-tips-catholics-long-absent-confessional
[4] http://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Basics/Confiteor.html
[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlt98XPa5Po; and https://youtu.be/6g6fbGZOgW4?t=63
[6] http://sanctoral.com/en/saints/saint_john_vianney.html
[7] https://olrl.org/lives/vianney.shtml

Renunciation

Dictionary.com  defines renunciation as "an act or instance of relinquishing, abandoning, repudiating, or sacrificing something" [1], quoting in part.  Renunciation is defined here to include the surrender of one's ability to obtain, acquire, possess or choose.

In this fast-changing technological world, when new things arrive at the marketplace before warranties have run out on the old, when people build up excitement over something still in production or development, is renunciation even a concept?  Has the word disappeared from one's vocabulary, buried under layers upon layers of desires that are material and temporal, that have no redemptive value?

The need to realize these desires by making acquisitions seems to be both a prerequisite and proof of a privileged life that nearly everyone wants.  Whether one actually lives or pretends to live such a life, the desires are the same.  To separate material and temporal desires from one's life is to cut oneself off from society, one that is not only unmindful of God but also frowns upon, if not ostracize those who speak of God.

In light of such intense peer and societal pressure, God is relegated to the background by many.  Waiting with love and in humble silence, God suffers through the pierced sacred heart of Christ, wondering if they would at some point choose to turn around and acknowledge God's love and omnipresence, and take bold outward strides toward God without embarrassment, guilt or fear.

To get close to God, one ought to live one's life in detachment from all things material and temporal, using them only as a necessity of modern living without chasing after the latest and the best.  To do better, one must renounce not only worldly desires and possessions but also choice by abandoning oneself completely to God, not something easily accomplished.


[1] http://www.dictionary.com/browse/renunciation

A Reflection Of One's Goodness

To what extent does one consider oneself to be good?  To a large extent, of course.  Moving from a relativistic world where a permissive society has warped the meaning of decency to a self-centered world where everyone else is to blame but oneself, people have become blinder and blinder to their own iniquities.  This loss of insight is aggravated by those who lead people to error, by preaching that mercy is matched up with sin, presumably measure for measure, canceling it out.  With mercy at the ready awaiting every sin that will be committed, there is no need for a an examination of conscience [1], no need to be sorry and no need for atonement.  Therefore, one ought to be able to claim that one is always good and living with a clean conscience, having just come out of a shower of mercy.

Can one whose sins have just been hosed down by the brand of easy mercy promoted by this papacy claim to be good in the way that God is good, that the new Adam is good and the new Eve is good?  If so, then is one still a sinner?  If one remains a sinner, then how good and bad is a person at any point in time?  Without an answer to the question, another has come up: What is good?

Since love comes from God and God is without a doubt good, therefore love is good.  Since nobody can love like God, can any one be truly good?  No, but can a "no" answer be always right?  Do people not go through lives helping other people and doing good things for others?  Are they not good?

The secular-minded people of the world would prefer that good not be defined relative to God but relative to Satan, the nameless, faceless and invisible force that drive them without them knowing it.  If on Judgment Day, every soul is judged relative to Satan, then all souls will enter Heaven because when compared to Satan, every soul can be deemed saintly.  This is fantasy.  Hell exists for a purpose.  It is a place for those who erred knowingly and irrevocably and who have deliberately or heretically led others to error.

There are all kinds of errors, too numerous to list.  As an example, overestimating oneself as good is an error, but a correctable error.

Knowing the truth can lead to the correction of errors.  It is therefore best to have honest, periodic, if not frequent, examinations of conscience to allow oneself to see interiorly, without resorting to rationalization and denial because sooner or later, one will have no choice but to face up to the truth.

When it comes to the truth, man and Satan are partners: man wants to hide from it and Satan wants to lie about it.  This blog postulates that there are two truths.  One is spelled with a small "t" and these truths belong to the person and are particular to the person.  These truths often change as they are being manipulated to fit the occasion to benefit the self.  They then become new, sad truths.  The other truth is spelled with a capital "T".  This Truth is God's Truth.  It never changes and lasts forever.

When Christ said, "'I am the way and the truth and the life'" [2]  and when speaking to "the Jews who believed in him" [3] said, "'If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free[,]'" [4] they are truths that fall under Truth with a capital "T".  To avoid and deny the Truth is to be enslaved by the chain of suffering and the chain of death.  Adam and Eve knew this well [5], and so should their descendants be mindful that they are the recipients of their first parents' twin fates which would have been eternal but for the Son of God, Who became man to save man from eternal suffering and eternal death.

The salvation of man's soul is contingent upon man following the way of Christ, which is the way of the Truth, which speaks of love, and only then will man have eternal life.  To be able to live in God's Truth through Christ, one must first confront one's own unvarnished truths, since one cannot see God's Truth clearly without first coming to terms with one's own.

It is never easy to look into oneself in order to discover one's own truths, because they can be very ugly and not too many people are ready to admit to themselves that they are just as ugly as Satan is.  Some people are so enveloped by the Satanic forces that dominate the world that they do not even know that they are the slaves of the one true Enemy.  Christ has shown to all the path away from Satan by the words He spoke, by the life He led and by the death He suffered, but His path is very difficult to embark upon, even more so to stay on it because Satan is unremitting in seeking the ruin of souls.

Before one even begins to think about taking a first step onto Christ's path, one has to peel off the different layers that makes up one's character and touch figuratively the rotten core inside.  Imagine this core feeding all kinds of sins with each sin being represented by a different serpent, some larger, some smaller.  The more susceptible one is to a particular sin, the bigger is the serpent; the less susceptible, the smaller.

Is it possible that they will all go away?  Yes ought to be the answer, but that will come with suffering.  Tribulations in life will drive away the serpents when accepted with humility, faith and love.  Rare is the person who looks forward to, welcomes and receives gladly sufferings of the mind, body and spirit.  Perhaps one can reduce the intensity and the time that would be necessary to purge one's sins by recognizing them presently, by being humble and by praying for strength in overcoming one's weaknesses.

Some sins are easier to identify than others.  Of the seven deadly ones [2], lust is probably the easiest to recognize and probably the most difficult to resist.  Wrath, too, is also fairly easy to recognize and perhaps just as easy to overcome, depending on the person.  Sloth and gluttony can be fairly common, especially in societies where there are wealthy people who do not have much to do and where there are poor people who are able to depend on a secular government's handout; with all that is available for the rich and the poor, sloth and gluttony are not easily eliminated.  Greed and envy can be seen as both sides of the same coin, and because they are both addictive, they take turns driving one another to its extreme and because of this interaction, they reinforce one another and tend to last.  Pride is definitely the most subtle to recognize of all.  It disguises itself and assumes all kinds of identities that on the surface are innocuous, even wise.  In whatever form or manner it surfaces, pride takes away one's capacity to love.  In order to see how well it has confined one's capacity to love, one has to look to one's target, the person who is subjected to one's judgments, in order to get a feel for the damage one's pride has caused.

Sometimes upon hearing another speak one immediately draws conclusions based on assumptions which sometimes can be unfounded.  The person concluding is often unaware that the conclusions reached could be wrong and hurtful by diminishing goodness in the other person and reduce a motive that originates from kindness to one that is from selfishness.

This happens because the judgment is often based on what one is most familiar with, and that is the person judging.  One would place oneself in the other person's shoes and assumes that the other person would have the same ulterior motives as one would have in a similar situation.  It would generally not occur for one to think that there could be a completely different perspective, one that is selfless and untainted, that originates from love from within the heart.

Pride blinds a person, and disallows one to admit to oneself that others may have an abundance of goodness so much greater than the goodness within oneself.  The lack of faith in the goodness of others is a reflection of the shallowness of goodness in oneself.  By subtracting from the amount of goodness in others, one equates the amount of goodness within oneself.

This is not an incurable disease.  Similar to one's built-in immunity that can restore one to health, one's innate ability to love can wipe out one's blindness and return one's sight to see genuine unselfishness in others rather than a reflection of the goodness diminished by pride in oneself.  Sadly, no medication will activate this love.  Humility and prayer, however, can restore faith in the goodness of souls.

From the receiver's perspective, hearing someone say things that are hurtful reveals much more about the speaker's character than the character of the person who has to listen them.  It is of no use to be upset or angry, nor is it all that useful to tell the other person that he or she is wrong.  Those who are presumptuous and skeptical and judge incorrectly tend to continue to be presumptuous and skeptical and judge incorrectly.  They have lost every bit of innocence and in its place, they have chosen to rely entirely on their intellect that is devoid of compassion.  By being proud of one's intellect, one overlooks his or her personal deficiencies.  While overlooking one's own deficiencies, one overlooks one's own imperfections, in particular, pride.  There is little one can do to heal such blindness in others.  It is therefore best to be accepting and forgiving of this blindness, just as one ought to be kind to another who is physically or mentally impaired by a disease.  Just as Christ is able to forgive one's trespasses, one must forgive another's so that every time, innocence is renewed without prejudgment.

A reflection of perfect goodness is also a reflection of God, for God has full faith in the goodness of souls, for God loves each and everyone.  How accurately one is able to see one's own goodness will depend on how often one examines one conscience and how honest one is when performing the examination.



[1] http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/sacraments-and-sacramentals/penance/examinations-of-conscience.cfm
[2] http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/14, 6, quoted without footnote.
[3] http://www.usccb.org/bible/jn/8:4747, 31, quoted with paragraph number and footnote.
[4] http://www.usccb.org/bible/jn/8:4747, 31-2, quoted with paragraph number and footnote.
[5] http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3, 1-19.
[6] http://www.deadlysins.com/

Inner Peace Perturbed

Christ said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." [1]

If only one can always have the peace of Christ within, that would be like living a life in Heaven on earth.  How is one able to live a life of interior peace when Satan and its demons put in one's mind its craftiest designs that take advantage of one's most vulnerable weakness, the weakness that Satan favors most that God wants one to overcome first?  Such attacks tend to become more and more bold and difficult to resist, assuming that Satan even gives one an opportunity to resist, when one draws closer and closer to God.

Satan is truly a hateful creature, and infinitely abominable.  Since Satan is a spirit, its energy never diminishes and it is relentless.  No human is able to defend against its attacks without divine assistance.  Satan wins when one is caught unprepared and unwittingly does its will.  When one wakes up to such a reality, one's inner peace is replaced by a gnawing of the soul.

Prayer is the only cure.  It is also a shield.  There are many defenders in Heaven against Satan.  Michael the Archangel comes to mind.  The Latin version [2], [3] of the prayer is followed by the English [4]:

Sáncte Míchael Archángele, defénde nos in proélio, cóntra nequítiam et insídias diáboli ésto præsídium. Ímperet ílli Déus, súpplices deprecámur: tuque, prínceps milítiæ cæléstis, Sátanam aliósque spíritus malígnos, qui ad perditiónem animárum pervagántur in múndo, divína virtúte, in inférnum detrúde. Ámen. 

Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him we humbly pray; and do Thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the Power of God, cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits, who prowl through the world seeking the ruin of souls.  Amen.

Perhaps the One most hated by Satan is the Woman Who gave birth to the Son of God, Who is the Mother of all, Who tirelessly and continuously intercedes on behalf of sinners for the salvation of  souls.  For each soul that is saved from the brink of eternal damnation, Satan's fury escalates exponentially, but Satan never gets angry; rather, its aim is to get even, by becoming craftier and craftier, doing everything in its power to tear down every soul that is headed toward God.  One must therefore protect oneself with personal prayers and prayers of the rosary.

Of all the mysteries of the rosary that one can meditate upon, perhaps the one most hated by Satan is the Nativity [5], the third of the Joyful Mysteries, when the Blessed Virgin Mary gives birth to the Son of God Who Himself as man triumphed over Satan in the desert by rejecting its temptations [6] and over eternal death [7] and damnation (Satan's joy) by His crucifixion and resurrection.

[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/14, 27, quoted without footnotes.
[2] https://www.beautysoancient.com/st-michael-archangel-prayer-english-latin-short-form/
[3] https://youtu.be/rhKXB_kO-To?list=PLlZR1Ck-Cr0yhHYlgJ78U2Rd2TohvWbo6&t=381, in this blogger's uneducated opinion, the pronunciation is awesome except for two words having too much of the "s" sound when they ought to have more of the "t" sound, namely "nequíTEEam" and "milíTEEæ" -- this is just a personal preference.  Perhaps if these words were spelled with an "x" instead of a "t", then the "s" sound would be prominent -- an uneducated conclusion.
[4] https://www.catholiccompany.com/content/St.-Michael-the-Archangel-Prayer.cfm
[5] http://www.rosary-center.org/joyful.htm
[6] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/4, 1-11
[7] http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Eschatology/Eschatology_001.htm

From Pure Love's Perspective

Christ wants all to love but in order to love, one's perspective has to born out of love in one's heart and not emerge from the intellect and desires that resides in one's mind.  In this day and age, and perhaps in any age from the time of Adam and Eve, one seldom, if ever, looks into one's heart for guidance.  Had Eve looked into her heart when tempted by the Serpent in so many imaginable ways, asking how much God loved her and how much she loved God Who created her, rather than allowing her intellect and desires to make the wrong choice, her and Adam's descendants might still be in the Garden of Eden, living lives without suffering and without death.

The consequence of the error is not reversible by man.  Death is a certainty for all in the past and present ages.  Except for the Blessed Virgin Mary Who is the Immaculate Conception, Who was assumed into Heaven, every single human who has been born from a long line of mothers has been stained with Eve's Sin.  This stain can be diminished by making reparations that include love of God (repelling the forces of Satan), obedience through humility (negating pride, envy and greed) and love without judgment and expectation (fostering magnanimity, kindness, self-sacrifice and chastity).

In making these reparations, the focus is never upon the self.  If one's self interest is in any way served, or if one receives any kind of benefit, even indirectly, then one may as well not waste time trying to make reparations, because they would be meaningless.  This may sound harsh, but nobody has yet made the claim that being close to Heaven while on earth is easy--not even Christ Who became man (God-man) Who did not have any reparation to make but Who by His suffering and death had taught man how to make reparations had an easy time over the course of His worldly journey that led Him back to Heaven where "[He] is seated at the right hand of God." [2]

"Think of what is above, not of what is on earth." [3]  Think from pure love's perspective, not from a mind tainted by avarice, lust and pride.

Is this standard of holiness even reachable by a sinner who most likely is bound to fail at some point to some degree?  Should one even try to get close to Heaven while on earth?  The answer has to be "yes," and try again one must, repeatedly and in succession, each time after making a contrite and sincere prayerful confession before God (all the while mindful of God's love and one's love for God), for to sin is man's tendency whereas to forgive and to love is God's nature.

Perhaps reading Psalm 51 would help [4]:

Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love;
in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.

Thoroughly wash away my guilt;
and from my sin cleanse me.

For I know my transgressions;
my sin is always before me.

Against you, you alone have I sinned;
I have done what is evil in your eyes
So that you are just in your word,
and without reproach in your judgment.

Behold, I was born in guilt,
in sin my mother conceived me.

Behold, you desire true sincerity;
and secretly you teach me wisdom.

Cleanse me with hyssop, that I may be pure;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

You will let me hear gladness and joy;
the bones you have crushed will rejoice.

Turn away your face from my sins;
blot out all my iniquities.

A clean heart create for me, God;
renew within me a steadfast spirit.

Do not drive me from before your face,
nor take from me your holy spirit.

Restore to me the gladness of your salvation;
uphold me with a willing spirit.

I will teach the wicked your ways,
that sinners may return to you.

Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God,
and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice.

Lord, you will open my lips;
and my mouth will proclaim your praise.

For you do not desire sacrifice or I would give it;
a burnt offering you would not accept.

My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.

[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3, 2-3.
[2] http://www.usccb.org/bible/colossians/3, 1.
[3] http://www.usccb.org/bible/colossians/3, 2.
[4] http://www.usccb.org/bible/psalms/51, 3-19, quoted without paragraphs numbers and footnotes.

Ave Verum Corpus

Below are the words of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus [1]:

Ave, ave verum corpus
Natum de Maria Virgine
Vere passum immolatum
In cruce pro homine
Cujus latus perforatum
Unda fluxit et sanguine
Esto nobis praegustatum
In mortis examine
In mortis examine

When sung by the Vienna Boys' Choir the hymn becomes a reverential prayer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsUWFVKJwBM, fit to replace Saint Thomas Aquinas' O Salutaris Hostia [2].

Below is a word for word translation [3]:

Ave / verum / Corpus, natum / de / Maria / Virgine:
Hail / true / Body / born / of / Mary / Virgin,

Vere / passum, / immolatum / in / cruce / pro / homine:
truly / suffered / was sacrificed / on / cross / for / mankind

Cujus / latus / perforatum, / unda / fluxit / et / sanguine:
Whose / side / was pierced / from where or water / flowed / and / blood

Esto / nobis / praegustatum / in / mortis / examine.
Be / for us / foretaste / in / of death / testing 

Taking cues from the above translation, this blogger attempts his own:

Hail, hail True Body,
born of the Virgin Mary
Truly suffered; sacrificed
On the cross for mankind
Whose pierced side
Flowed water and blood,
Be for us a foretaste:
A testing of death.
A testing of death.



[1] http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/m/mozart/ave_verum_corpus.html, edited and without hyperlinks
[2] https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Dictionary_of_Music_and_Musicians/O_Salutaris_Hostia
[3] http://www.jamescsliu.com/classical/Mozart_K618.html

Who Is A Disciple - A Footnote

Jesus said, "'If any one comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.'" [1]

Quoting Julie Coleman, in part, without hyperlinks [2]:

In Mark 7, [H]e criticized the Pharisees for not honoring their father and mother. (They were refusing to give their parents financial support, claiming the funds they would have used were already given to God.)

Jesus didn’t hate his own mother. As he hung on the cross, some of his last few words were spoken in concern for her. “Woman, behold your son!” he gasped. Then he turned and told John, “Behold, your mother!” Even in the throes of death, he was caring for Mary.

Was Jesus contradicting himself with this statement on family in Luke 14?

Julie Coleman concluded [3]:

Jesus was not calling his disciples to abandon their families. He was calling them to distance themselves from the cultural value placed on their family network and choose instead to identify with Him. According to God, our identity is in Christ alone. It frames our lives and defines what our perspective should be on the rest.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops also points to other passages in the Bible in its footnote:  "[14:26] Hating his father…: cf. the similar saying in Mt 10:37. The disciple’s family must take second place to the absolute dedication involved in following Jesus (see also Lk 9:59–62)." [5]

These passages are consistent with the two most important commandments, to love God first, and then to love neighbor. [4]  Furthermore, as much as one ought to love one's parents, spouse, siblings and relatives, one must realize that none of them is sinless and perfect.  Perhaps Christ was asking all his disciples to hate not the person, be it one's father, mother, wife, child, brother, sister or even oneself, but the sins.  In other words, one cannot love one's own sins and sins of another and love God and be a disciple of Christ at the same time.



[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/lk/14:3535.26
[2] http://juliecoleman.org/blog-post/why-did-jesus-tell-his-disciples-to-hate-their-families/, quoted without hyperlink.
[3] http://juliecoleman.org/blog-post/why-did-jesus-tell-his-disciples-to-hate-their-families/
[4] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/22:1517, 36-40
[5] http://www.usccb.org/bible/lk/14:3535, at * [14:26]

O Salutaris Hostia

"O SALUTARIS HOSTIA [is] a Hymn sung during the Office called Benediction, at the moment when the Tabernacle is opened, in order that the Consecrated Host may be removed and placed in the Monstrance prepared for its solemn Exposition." [1]

Here are the lyrics [2]:

O SALUTARIS Hostia
Quae caeli pandis ostium.
Bella premunt hostilia;
Da robur, fer auxilium. 

Uni trinoque Domino
Sit sempiterna gloria:
Qui vitam sine termino,
Nobis donet in patria. 

Amen.

Below is a word for word translation by Msgr. Charles Pope [3]:

O salutaris Hostia (O saving victim)
quae caeli pandis ostium (who of heaven opens the gate – i.e. who opens the gate of heaven)
bella premunt hostilia (wars press hostile – i.e. hostile wars press)
da robur fer auxilium (give strength, bear aid)
Uni Trinoque Domino (To the One and Threefold Lord)
sit sempiterna gloria (may there be eternal glory)
qui vitam sine termino (who life without end)
nobis donet in patria (to us may he grant in the Fatherland)

A version of the hymn is available on You Tube at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgpOgDLXXp4.

Since this blogger does not see Christ as a victim, he has a different translation, one which has little, if anything, to do with the words so carefully chosen by Saint Thomas Aquinas that rhyme or the Latin language:

O Saving Body of Christ
Who opens Heaven's door
Augment our strength
To fend off hostilities against all that is Beautiful.

To the One Trinitarian God
Whose glory is eternal
Whose Life is without end
May we repose in the Father.

Amen.


[1] https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/A_Dictionary_of_Music_and_Musicians/O_Salutaris_Hostia, quoted without footnote.
[2] http://www.preces-latinae.org/thesaurus/Euch/OSalutaris.html
[3] http://blog.adw.org/2013/07/a-word-by-word-translation-and-study-of-the-latin-hymns-used-at-benediction/

Parable Of Talents

This entry is not a substitute for a homily but an attempt to understand The Parable of the Talents [1].  Far from being a lesson in risk and reward in the business world, the parable is about talent as defined here as God's gift, a unique ability one has at different times in one's life.

Some people are extremely gifted, while others go through lives with far humble abilities.  In God's eyes, it does not matter what kinds of gifts one have been given, nor the results of such gifts.  What is important is how one nurtures one's gifts.

To put it another way: Life itself is a gift from God.  What one does with it is one's gift back to God.

What does God expect to receive from one's life?  Christ answered the question.  He said, "'Much will be required of the person entrusted with much, and still more will be demanded of the person entrusted with more.'" [2]  His answer raises another question, how much is one entrusted with?  He did not say.  Without even a hint, how does one know when one has met what have been required?

Perhaps the answer is simple, yet seemingly impossible, that one is never able to meet what have been required.

What have been required?  "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.'" [3] And "'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" [4]

Perhaps this entry had failed to define talent fully at the beginning.  Perhaps talent ought to be defined fully as God's gift, a unique ability one has at different times in one's life to love God, to love one's parents and siblings, one's relatives and one's neighbor.

[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/25, 14-30.
[2] http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/12:81, 48.
[3] http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/12, 30
[4] http://www.usccb.org/bible/mark/12, 31

Human Pains And Christ

Over the course of life, one can be exposed to different kinds of pain, be it physical or emotional, tolerable or debilitating, temporary or recurring, quantifiable or unspeakable.  Pain transcends the differences that separate one from another.  It tends to bring one close to God although many choose to be near their medical doctors and counselors instead.  In some cases, unspeakable pains can distance one from God.

Pain is part of suffering.  Knowing the causes does not necessarily alleviate it nor shorten its duration. Taking medications and having surgical procedures may help.

It is common to seek treatment for pain but uncommon to meditate on its purpose.  Pain reminds one quickly that one is human, not a super being that can keep on going and going.  It slows one down, and humiliates even those who are strong and gifted.  In this helpless state, one reaches out for assistance.

Christ is the first among healers.  To Him, death was merely a nap.  Not only did the Son of God raise Lazarus from the dead [1], He Himself resurrected [2].  Coming back from being dead is not limited to biblical events of the past; people who had been declared dead medically in this age but who had come back to life often have a story to tell, usually not what caused their deaths but what happened while they were dead.  They are messengers for the living.  Their unspoken message collectively points to the insignificance of death compared to the Heavenly existence that lies beyond this earthly existence.

Despite the clarity of their message, it is often difficult for the living to see the joy that awaits in midst of pain and tribulation.  Christ is present in all worldly sufferings.  Accepting them is accepting Christ.  One who rejects suffering by choosing to end one's natural life rejects Christ.  By doing so, one may face a different eternity, an eternity that reminds the soul of life's pains without the presence of Christ.  One who accents to or assists in the death on behalf of another breaks one of God's Ten Commandments [3].

It is not wise to disobey God.  It was disobedience that brought suffering to man's first parents and their descendants [4]; yet, it is the unspeakable pains and tribulations that the Son of God and the Mother of God accepted with humility and love that allowed them to overcome Sin and eternal death on behalf of man, that allowed man to live in eternal joy.

The door to eternal joy is not a revolving one, entering into the door of sin and exiting from the door of mercy as some would have people believe.  It is a door of pain and suffering, unique to each individual.  The new Catholic Church today no longer speaks of suffering, even though its foundation rests upon suffering out of love without blame.

A church that does not speak of pain has no God just as a person who is unable to internalize pain has no comprehension of Christ.


[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/john/john11.htm, 1-44.
[2] http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/24, 1-12.
[3] http://www.usccb.org/bible/exodus/20, 13
[4] http://www.usccb.org/bible/genesis/3, 1-20.

Who Is A Disciple?

The following is quoted from Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D. 's article entitled Disciples and Apostles in the New Testament [1], in part:

Disciple = "learner, pupil, student"  (Gk. mathetes, from the verb manthanein, "to learn")

Jesus is not the only "teacher" to have "disciples" in the New Testament;
there are also "disciples of John [the Baptist]" (Mark 2:18; Matt 9:14; Luke 5:33; 7:18; John 1:35; 4:1) and "disciples of the Pharisees" (Mark 2:18; 6:29; Luke 5:33) and "disciples of Moses" (John 9:28). 

In the ancient world, students/disciples usually sought out a teacher (cf. Luke 9:57-62);
but Jesus usually reverses the dynamic, "calling" people to become his disciples (Mark 1:16-20; 2:14-17; 3:13; etc.). 

Jesus did not establish a "school" in a particular location, but was an itinerant (wandering) preacher/teacher;
thus, his disciples literally had to "follow" him around (Mark 8:34; 10:21; Luke 9:57-62; John 1:43).

The word "disciples" is used 233 times in the Gospels for Jesus' followers, but one should not assume that it refers only to "the twelve";
the phrase "twelve disciples" occurs only three times (Matt 10:1; 11:1; 20:17), and "disciples" often refers to this core group;
but other people are also called "disciples" of Jesus (Matt 8:19-22; Luke 6:13, 17, 20; 19:37; John 4:1; 6:66; 8:31; 9:28; Acts 6:1-7; etc.).

The above is a scholarly explanation of who is a disciple.  In this entry, a disciple refers to one who strives to be Christ-like.  Since every one has gifts that are unique, lives imperfect lives and can make erroneous decisions along the way, paths to being Christ-like will vary.  These paths, however diverse in their formation, eventually merge into a single road that leads to interior peace.

From this inner peace a pure love emerges, provided that pride is not allowed to interfere with one's goal to be a true disciple of Christ.

Can a life of holy discipleship be lived in a world filled with secular images and sounds that can awaken unholy passions, or does it have to be lived in place of silence that is conducive to unceasing prayer, such as a monastery away from the easy accessibility to a kaleidoscope of competing temptations and distractions in a Godless society?

What if one lives chastely in an urban setting, who is obedient to God, who possesses material things but who is emotionally detached from their ownership, whose charity comes from the heart, then is one a disciple who is Christ-like?

If the answer is one who pleases God is a disciple of Christ, then would that include a worker for an international aid organization, a priest who serves his parishioners, a nun who teaches, a preacher who adheres to the words of the Gospel, a contemplative monk in a hermitage who prays incessantly, one who is humble, and true to oneself and neighbor, and others not listed here who love with their hearts and not their minds?

Still, how would one know if one's discipleship pleases God?  Until God speaks, one would not.  God speaks to different people in different ways, but perhaps every conversation ends with a sense of peace so pervasive that it envelopes the whole being, a peace that continues to live within one's interior even when God stops speaking.  Perhaps this peace will not come until the very end, at death, and when it does, it cannot be mistaken as anything else but something truly Heavenly, love from the heart of Christ (wounded by sins) that is like no other.


[1] http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Disciples.htm

When God Communicates

No two people are alike.  Even identical twins are not identical in every way [1], each with separate personalities [2].  Whether such differences are attributed to genetics or the environment are not the subject of this entry.  This entry postulates that people are not products of robotic assembly lines, that no two are made exactly the same way.  Therefore, when God communicaes, God communicates to each individual in a unique way.  The message could be similar but the delivery could vary in content, in intensity, in timing and in degrees of miraculousness.

A communication can sometimes be direct and clear with no room for interpretation.  Other times, it is not so clear which can make life difficult.  It can also be a series of divinely timed signs that skeptics would consider as earthly coincidences.

There is no statistics on how often God communicates, to whom it is directed and if any such communication is necessarily from God and not from Satan pretending to be God.  One will know for certain at death if one had in one's life been a minion of Satan because one's soul will be spending an eternity with Satan.  Perhaps, one can foresee where one could be headed if an action that one has taken has led to suffering and death of others.

One's choice of action has consequences, in life and in eternity.  The plan God has is seldom an easy path to take.  It challenges the individual physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.  The easy paths are presented by Satan, and they are paved with self-interests, greed and pride, food that feed the feeble souls.

In the battle for souls, God does not remain silent, yet only in silence does one hear the voice of God.  Satan, on the other hand, speaks through layers upon layers of temptations, capitalizing upon the weaknesses of the individual, in the midst of noises, secular, social and political, through states of mind that are confused, drugged and inebriated to some degree by the forces of evil.

No matter how convincingly Satan presents one with options, the choice belongs to the individual, to help carry the cross of Christ as much as one is able to, or put the cross back on Christ, sit down and simply watch.


[1] https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/identical-twins-genes-are-not-identical/
[2] https://io9.gizmodo.com/how-do-identical-twins-develop-different-personalities-497857032

Faith

Faith always points in the direction of God.  Faith is absolute confidence in God and in the power of God.  Christ said,"'[I]f you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.'" [1]

In contrast, hope is wishful thinking.  At its core is doubt.  A man who hopes does not truly believe that anything he hopes for will come true.  Thus, it can be concluded that man who has no faith is left with hope.  One who preaches hope can therefore be said to have no faith in God or in the power of God and who perhaps may not even believe in God.  Why waste time preaching about hope when it is faith that makes all things impossible possible?

One needs to acquire spiritual strength to have unyielding faith in God.  With unwavering faith in God miracles will occur.  Those who do not believe in miracles have no faith.  They live in fear.  They fear uncertainty and they fear mortality.  These are fears of the secular, not the faithful.

One who fears can hide behind walls, locked doors, teams of security detail and comfort but one cannot hide from oneself and God.  One can worry about forces from without that disturb one's stability and destroy one's flesh but it is the Enemy from within that destroys the soul that ought to be of concern.  All things in the world are transient and back to dust they eventually turn, including one's bones [2], but one's soul is eternal.

Preservation of one's life, possessions and false freedoms (freedoms that are self-centered, sanctimonious and entirely devoid of love of God and neighbor) are primary concerns of man, but preservation of one's soul from sin is the primary concern of God.  Therefore, Christ, God's only Son, came to save man from Original Sin, but it is man who can save himself from the plethora of sins in which he relishes and in which he chooses to indulge.

As one goes through the vicissitudes of life, it may seem impossible to repel the gravitational pull of temptations that directs one's soul down to the abyss.  Since nothing is impossible with God, a far greater force in the opposite direction that leads one's soul away from the abyss is always present for the faithful to reach out and grasp.  It is by having faith, an absolute certainty, not hope, a perpetual uncertainty, that one's soul finds peace in this world.


[1] http://www.usccb.org/bible/matthew/17, at 20.
[2] https://www.scienceabc.com/humans/skeleton-mystery-dont-bones-decay-decompose.html

The Gift Of Sustenance

Sadly, this blogger has not yet made it a habit to say a prayer of gratitude before each meal, which he ought and desires to but forgets to do.  Today, a thought came to him when he was sweetening his coffee with a bit of honey.  Everyone knows generally where honey comes from, but how often does one think of what God has put in place so that honey can flow from the honey combs, and how often does one think of everything else that is natural (non-genetically modified/mutated organisms) that one consumes comes also from God?

Is it therefore appropriate to thank God for what one is about to receive before feeding oneself in order to sustain one's life?  And is it appropriate to consider the planting of seeds, the harvesting, the raising of farm animals and fishing as one uninterrupted act done by many throughout the world as a continuous prayer of gratitude?  Would it be also appropriate to prepare, serve and consume food and drinks with God constantly on one's mind and to consider one's kitchen and dinner table as places of holiness inside one's home?

One can also say grace before each meal and a prayer of thanksgiving afterward.  Below is a sample of each:

From Google Images

Pope: "God's gifts are irrevocable" -- Really?

In an article dated November 6, 2017, entitled Pope at Mass: God's gifts are irrevocable, Vatican Radio  reported that "When God gives a gift, it is irrevocable: He does not give something one day, and take it away the next. When God calls us, that call remains our whole life. Pope Francis began his homily with this reflection, inspired by the theme of our 'election by God,' God’s choice of each of us, which is taken from the day’s reading from the Letter of St Paul to the Romans." [1]

Well, God called Judas to be a disciple of Christ.  Did God ask Judas after the kiss of betrayal to remain a disciple of Christ?  Further back in time, it was God's choice for Lucifer to be an angel.  Then came the fall [2]:

II. THE FALL OF THE ANGELS

391 Behind the disobedient choice of our first parents lurks a seductive voice, opposed to God, which makes them fall into death out of envy.266 Scripture and the Church's Tradition see in this being a fallen angel, called "Satan" or the "devil".267 The Church teaches that Satan was at first a good angel, made by God: "The devil and the other demons were indeed created naturally good by God, but they became evil by their own doing."268

392 Scripture speaks of a sin of these angels.269 This "fall" consists in the free choice of these created spirits, who radically and irrevocably rejected God and his reign. We find a reflection of that rebellion in the tempter's words to our first parents: "You will be like God."270 The devil "has sinned from the beginning"; he is "a liar and the father of lies".271 

393 It is the irrevocable character of their choice, and not a defect in the infinite divine mercy, that makes the angels' sin unforgivable. "There is no repentance for the angels after their fall, just as there is no repentance for men after death."272

Quoting further from the article cited above [3]:

In the history of salvation, the Pope said, there are three “gifts and calls of God to His people”: “the gift of election, of the promise, and of the covenant.” All are irrevocable, because God is faithful. This was the case for Abraham, and it is true for all of us as well:

“Each one of us is elect, chosen by God. Each one of us bears a promise that the Lord has made: ‘Walk in my presence, be irreproachable, and I will do this for you.’ And each one of us makes some covenant with the Lord. You can do it, you can’t will it – it is free. But this is a fact. And also, there must be a question: How do I experience ‘election’? Or do I consider myself a Christian ‘by accident’ [It.: ‘per caso’]? How do I live the promise, a promise of salvation of my path, and how am I faithful to the covenant? Like He is faithful?”

Then, in the face of the constant “faithfulness” of God, it remains for us to ask ourselves: Do we feel His “caress,” His care for us, and His “seeking after” us when we have distanced ourselves from Him?

And yet, Pope Francis continued, St Paul, when speaking about the “election of God” returns again and again to two words: “disobedience” and “mercy.” Where there is one, there is the other, and this is our path of salvation:

“That is to say that on the path of election, to the promise, and the covenant, there will be sins, there will be disobedience, but in the face of this disobedience there is always mercy. It is like the dynamic of our walking journeying toward maturity: there is always mercy, because He is faithful, He never revokes His gifts. It is linked; this is linked, that the gifts are irrevocable; [but] why? Because in the face of our weaknesses, our sins, there is always mercy. And when Paul comes to this reflection, he goes one step further: but not in explanation for us, but of adoration.”

In the face of “this mystery of disobedience and mercy that sets us free,” there is adoration and silent praise. And in the face of “this beauty of irrevocable gifts such as election, the promise, and the covenant,” there is this final invitation from the Pope:

“I think it would do us good, all of us, to think today about our election; about the promises that the Lord has made to us; and about how I live out the covenant with the Lord. And how I allow myself – permit me the word – to receive mercy from the Lord [It. ‘misericordiare’ dal Signore] in the face of my sins, of my disobedience. And finally, whether I am capable – like Paul – of praising the Lord for what He has given to me, to each one of us: to offer praise, and to make that act of adoration. But never forgetting: the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.”

Perhaps the pope ought to ask Satan, formerly known as Lucifer, and Judas, if the call of God is indeed irrevocable, despite "our weaknesses, our sins" and if  "there is always mercy."  While he is at it, he also ought to ask the other thief who was crucified with Jesus, if he heard Jesus say to him as well these words: "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise" [3] based on Bergoglio's personal belief that "'there will be disobedience, but in the face of this disobedience there is always mercy.'" [4]



[1] http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/11/06/pope_at_mass_gods_gifts_are_irrevocable/1347189
[2] http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s2c1p7.htm
[3] http://www.usccb.org/bible/luke/23 at 43.
[4] http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2017/11/06/pope_at_mass_gods_gifts_are_irrevocable/1347189

Rohingya Refugees - Stateless, But Not Soulless

Who are the Rohingyas?  They are people.

"India’s claim to send the Rohingyas back to Myanmar rests on the notion that the refugees are of Burmese stock. However, the issue at hand is that the Burmese do not consider the Rohingyas as their citizens and consider them to be immigrants who were brought in from Bangladesh during the British colonial rule. Further, Bangladesh, which remains the favourite destination for the Rohingyas facing atrocities in Myanmar, is of the opinion that they are natives of the Burmese state and should be protected there. The passing around of the responsibility of the Rohingyas from one state to another has resulted in this group of around one million floating in mid air to be coined ‘stateless’ by the United Nation." [1]

Is there anyone in the photographs below who does not look like a child of God?  Are all people not created by God and loved by God?

"Those who claim to be Rohingyas ... are Muslims with Asian and Middle Eastern roots .... (Reuters)"  See http://indianexpress.com/article/research/who-are-the-rohingyas-4855585/

"Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingya as an ethnic group [Showkat Shafi/Al Jazeera]"
See http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2017/08/rohingya-muslims-170831065142812.html

From Google Images

"COX'S BAZAR, BANGLADESH - SEPTEMBER 20: A Rohingya refugee boy desperate for aid cries."
See Google Images

"A volunteer gives water to a child said to be fleeing violence in Burma  Khalsa Aid"
"Sikh volunteers say they have begun handing out food and water to Rohingya refugees fleeing violence in Burma."
See http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/rohingya-muslims-burma-flee-sikhs-help-bangladesh-khalsa-aid-food-water-ethnic-cleansing-a7945111.htm

In the midst of this unfolding humanitarian crisis, Kamal Hossain, a true saint, was helping children re-unite with their parents [2]:

"Kamal Hossain, who ran a lost-and-found booth for separated Rohingya families in Kutupalong camp, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Photograph: Poppy McPherson for the Guardian"
See https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/05/i-miss-them-so-much-myanmars-lost-rohingya-children-plead-for-their-parents

"A Rohingya boy is brought to a lost-and-found booth in Kutupalong camp, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Photograph: Poppy McPherson for the Guardian"
See https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/05/i-miss-them-so-much-myanmars-lost-rohingya-children-plead-for-their-parents

Before it closed in mid-October, the lost-and-found booth was bombarded with requests. Kamal Hossain, one of 300,000 Rohingya who have been in Bangladesh since a previous wave of violence in the 1990s, set up the makeshift centre after finding a baby crying outside the gate of Handicap International, where he works as a security guard. He was able to reunite her with her mother by renting a microphone and calling out her name.

Word spread and, in less than two months Hossain received about 1,500 reports of missing people, the majority children. He was able to reunite about half before he shut the booth down for lack of funds. “I am just a volunteer, I am just a guard,” he says. “I’m uneducated. I need some help like people who can read. I need a salary.”

But desperate people continue to show up looking for answers in his notebooks, filled with the names of the missing. “I’m feeling very stressed now,” he says. “When the centre was open, any separated person could be joined. Now I don’t know what will happen to those lost people.

Perhaps the pope knows.  He is scheduled to "visit Myanmar in November, the Vatican has announced, amid mounting concern at treatment of that country’s Rohingya Muslim minority." [3]  He is also scheduled to visit Bangladesh [4]:

The upcoming visit of Pope Francis to Bangladesh, which will take place from November 30 to December 2, 2017, in Dhaka "is a confirmation of the interreligious harmony that has distinguished the relations between our people for centuries, " Card. Patrick D'Rozario, archbishop of Dhaka, tells AsiaNews.

The prelate was commenting on the news of the pastoral journey of the pontiff, confirmed this morning by the Vatican Press Office. Speaking over the phone in the margins of the press conference organized by the archdiocese, attended by about 80 journalists, he affirms with joy: "The population is already ready. We've been waiting for the news for a longtime. Pope Francis will be welcomed by all, not only by Christians, but also by Muslims and Hindus. This is because Bangladesh has enormous cultural wealth and our presence [as Catholics] is accepted by everyone."

Harmony and peace are the themes chosen for the Pope's journey (see photos with the official logo). Already in the past, the cardinal emphasized to AsiaNews the importance of the Bangladeshi traditions, marked by the "deep humility of the population" a country where “various cultures and religious communities have always lived in harmony." That is why, says Card. D'Rozario Catholics now "rejoice in the news of Pope Francis' visit and are already planning everything." "The visit - he adds - will serve to celebrate this harmony, which is the richness of our cultural heritage in a country where everyone has always respected different religious denominations."

Perhaps the pope will announce concrete plans to help the tearful children who miss their parents day and night find comfort and security when he is in Bangladesh.  Perhaps he will appoint Cardinal Blase Joseph Cupich whose compassion for the poor and the suffering seems boundless to stay in Kutupalong camp, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, for as long as necessary, to reunite the lost children with their parents.

Perhaps the visit will be no more than a political staging at a safe distance away from the suffering Rohingya refugees, and a quick nod to "interreligious harmony" without true and lasting change but with pomp and circumstance and a logo.  The day will soon arrive when the world will find out if the Rohingya refugees will be impressed by the pope, assuming that they know who he is and the reasons for his visit, and if the refugees, who are mainly Muslims, would even want the official logo with the cross, a Christian symbol and the lotus, a Buddhist symbol, as a souvenir (see image below):

From: http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Card.-D'Rozario:-The-Pope's-visit-to-Dhaka,-a-confirmation-of-inter-religious-harmony-(Video)-41624.html

Thus, by having the logo above, the pope has already demonstrated his insensitivity toward the very people he is supposed to help by traveling to Myanmar and Bangladesh.  He might as well save everybody some trouble by staying in Vatican City and donate all his traveling expenses that he would otherwise incur to Kamal Hossain to continue his saintly work in helping Rohingya children locate their parents.  This would be a good first step for the pope as head of state of Vatican City and as leader of the Catholic Church to take in this humanitarian crisis.



[1] http://indianexpress.com/article/research/who-are-the-rohingyas-4855585/
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/05/i-miss-them-so-much-myanmars-lost-rohingya-children-plead-for-their-parents
[3] http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/28/pope-visit-myanmar-muslim-refugees-flee-renewed-violence/
[4] http://www.asianews.it/news-en/Card.-D'Rozario:-The-Pope's-visit-to-Dhaka,-a-confirmation-of-inter-religious-harmony-(Video)-41624.html