What's an indulgence?

We have lots of ways, as Catholics, to obtain indulgences. For example, a plenary indulgence is available every time we make the stations of the cross, or adore the Cross on Good Friday (I'll include some more below.)

So what is an indulgence?

An indulgence is the "remission"--the eradication, wiping away--of temporal punishment due to sin. What is "temporal punishment due to sin"?

Well, the Church distinguishes between "eternal" and "temporal" punishment due to sin. The eternal punishment due to sin is damnation. We deal with that through turning back to God; and while God can forgive anyone, and we believe he does forgive all who genuinely turn to him, the normal way we seek that forgiveness is to confess our sins sacramentally. (What about people who don't believe in this sacrament? I ask, do they believe in God and in confessing sin? Then God works with them where they are.) Of course, there's always the extreme option of making a perfect act of contrition, but really, if you have access to a priest, why play that game? Go to confession and have no fear!

So what is temporal punishment? That is the punishment that precedes eternity--embraces both the lived consequences of sin, as well as the purification that our souls may require upon departing this life into eternity. "Punishment" is used here in a broad sense. It doesn't necessarily mean some penalty God decrees; it can simply mean the consequences of sin.

So, for example, we're not saying that every time we sin, there's a verdict handed down, in which we earn some penalty; it doesn't mean, as so many think, that God sends us trouble in this life.

Punishment in this sense can simply mean that our sins have consequences, and even if we are forgiven of an eternal punishment, we still have to deal with those consequences.

So, for example: your sister may forgive you for stealing her book and ruining it. But that doesn't change the fact that justice calls for you to make some reparation: go buy her a new book, or make it up in some other way.

Another example: a person who tends to lie--a lot--can be forgiven of the eternal punishment; yet the effect of a habit of sin remains; and so that person must work to change his or her habits and appetites.

This can happen in this life, or in the life to come: in other words, our experience in purgatory.

When we receive an indulgence, it can be "partial" or "plenary"--the latter meaning, full or complete.

And when we obtain such any indulgence, we can keep it for ourselves, or else offer it to God on behalf of souls now in purgatory.

Now, some people find this distasteful or else misunderstand it.

An indulgence is not the "forgiveness of sins": that is obtained through confession of sin in the sacrament of reconciliation. For an indulgence to be plenary there has to be sacramental confession of sins.

So an indulgence is not a "get out of jail free" card; it goes to those who have already "gotten out of jail" the usual way.

So what is an indulgence?

Think of it this way: it is a fruit of God's mercy, it is a concrete way God gives to us, and applies to our concrete lives, that mercy which poured out into the world at the Cross--and continues to be available freely to all who need it.

Of course, someone will latch onto the fact that we perform a work: so the complaint is, we're being saved by works. But again, an indulgence is not "salvation." To put it another way, those who aren't saved--or in the process of being saved--cannot benefit from them!

Someone who is not in a state of grace cannot benefit from an indulgence! Only someone already on the path of salvation--someone who is "saved" (or being saved, since we believe that is not complete until we finish our lives cooperating with grace)--can benefit from an indulgence.

So the work of an indulgence is not to "gain" salvation, but to respond to it. We do these works of charity or prayer or devotion in response to God's salvation--not to obtain it.

The point of indulgences is to make concrete the path of conversion, and to move us along to greater conversion. So they only "work" to the extent we actually, well, "convert."

Hence an indulgence only is "plenary" when we go to confession, go to communion--meaning we're united with the Son of God sacramentally--we pray for the pope's intentions--meaning we're united with the Lord's Church on earth--and we have no attachment to venial sin.

And if we don't meet all the conditions? Then the indulgence is "partial." Meaning: we gain a partial lessening of the need for purification.

Think about it: what is it, exactly, that we're dealing with? We're dealing with the effects of sin on our lives. The man who is a glutton needs not only to confess that sin--and be forgiven eternally--but also to change his life so he is temperate in his appetites. If I--er, that man--enters eternity with gluttonous appetites, that disordered state must be fixed or else I--um, I mean that other guy--cannot be perfectly happy in heaven.

So this business of correcting or purifying us of all the consequences and effects of sin is an additional gift of God!

How would you like to spend eternity with a nagging source of unhappiness? An itch you cannot scratch? A thirst you cannot quench? Does that sound like heaven? Might sound more like hell.

God does not want anyone to spend eternity with such unhappiness, but some have made their choice (the fallen angels for certain, and anyone else who may be in hell as I write). So for those whose choice is made, it is, sadly, too late. But for all others, God seeks a multitude of ways to win us to heaven.

And for those who are moving toward heaven--in the imperfect, bumptious way most of us tend to make that pilgrimage--God provides endless ways of getting ready for heaven. After all, he could simply give us no preparation at all, until we arrive at the gates--and then we get ushered into the "fixing" room called purgatory. And then, we might--as we undergo whatever it takes to make us completely ready for heaven--complain, "God, why didn't you give me ways to deal with this along the journey?"

Well, that's just what God has done. Every day we can be working on our conversion. What did St. Peter say in Scripture? "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling"--yet it remains true what St. Paul said: "you are saved by grace." It is God's grace that animates and guides the entire enterprise, including whatever degree of good motives and desire for conversion we ourselves experience.

To obtain the indulgence, we not only do the action described, but we also go to confession, receive holy communion, pray any prayer for the pope’s intention, reject all attachment to sin.

So an indulgence--to the extent it "works"--only works because we're cooperating with God's grace. It is not mechanical or magical. God is not mocked! Do you suppose God does not see? If we "go through the motions," yet do not seek sincerely to be changed people, how can we imagine an indulgence will work for us?

But we can be a little more positive about it. If we go to the stations of the cross, or we pray the Rosary, or we adore the Cross on Good Friday, or do any number of other things that have indulgences attached to them--how can we completely shield ourselves from at least some good effect? If you dive into a pool, you will get wet; why, even if you sit near a pool, you will have a hard time avoiding getting some water on you. And if you spend time in prayer and works of charity, it's hard to imagine how anyone could avoid being at least somewhat changed.

Hence the logic of a "partial" indulgence: it will help you at least partially!

Now, what other questions remain?

Does it bother us that indulgences attach to specific works or prayers?

Think of it this way. Suppose God said, "I have good news! You can, by works and acts of charity and prayer, be changed so that all need for purgatory is behind you!"

And we say, "Wonderful! What are these works and acts of charity?"

And God said, "I'm not going to tell you!"

Not so nice, eh?

Instead, God gives his Church "the power of the keys" (See Matthew 16): and thus the Church specifies these works and prayers. Mighty helpful, is it not, to have concrete and specific steps to take for your own spiritual well being?

Does it bother us, or require explanation, that we "apply" a plenary indulgence to the souls in purgatory? Does it not make perfect sense? What we need is conversion--and what is a more powerful way to experience change than to expand our hearts through charity? To know what a plenary indulgence is--and then to give it away--what is more charitable? More Christlike? "He who knew no sin, became sin for us."

Our goal ought to be to breathe our last and find that we bypass purgatory because we don't need it. We've received our purification and making-ready in this life. Upon arriving at that moment, who would pause to say, "hrm, I seem to recall giving away all my plenary indulgences, so how did this happen?" We will be too busy plunging into the bliss the Blessed Trinity.

From the Handbook of Indulgences, a partial list of plenary indulgences (please don't expect I will have all the answers about these):

> Visit the four Patriarchal Basilicae in Rome.
> Receive the papal blessing, either from the pope himself, in Rome, or via radio or TV, or from a bishop when he is able to do so.
> Visit a cemetery and pray for the dead between November 1-8.
> Adore the Cross in the solemn liturgy on Good Friday.
> Pray a specific prayer before the crucifix on Fridays during Lent.
> Participate in solemn eucharistic rite that concludes a Eucharistic Congress.
> Spend at least 3 days of spiritual exercises on retreat.
> Act of Reparation to the Sacred Heart on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart.
> Act of dedication to Christ the King on that feast.
> At the moment of death, by praying--simply praying! (See Handbook, n. 28)
> Participating in a mission and being present for its solemn conclusion.
> First communion, receiving or assisting.
> Priest's first Mass with a congregation, for the priest and those who take part.
> Rosary recited in church, oratory, in family, a religious community or "pious association." Five decades, without interruption, suffice.
> Jubilee celebration of a priest's 25th, 50th and 60th anniversary of ordination, for the priest and faithful.
> Visiting a church where a Diocesan Synod is held.
> Praying a particular prayer on Holy Thursday or Corpus Christi. (Seems to be "Tantum Ergo" but the translation doesn't match.)
> Te Deum on January 31.
> Veni Creator Spiritus on January 1 and Pentecost.
> Stations of the Cross.
> Visit a church on its titular feast day, or on August 2.
> Visit a church or oratory on All Souls Day--this is only for the souls in purgatory.
> Divine Mercy devotion--I cannot recall the details.

Busy Sunday, not over yet...

Yesterday's easy day is being paid back today.

This weekend I preached at all six Masses, as well as offering three of them. Despite the notion some have that offering Mass, and preaching at Mass, is no trick, in fact it is tiring.

Moreover, I was very keyed up last night when I preached first at the 4 pm Mass, then left to offer the 5 pm Mass at the other parish. I was so keyed up, I was practically stumbling over my words. I'm not sure why I was feeling that way--but it may be an expression of how intensely I feel about the message I prepared for the weekend. As I ad-libbed in my homily this weekend: in seven years as a priest, I don't recall feeling as strongly about a message I delivered, as I did this message.

Of course I cannot know that my thesis--that current events reveal the Hand of God--I just feel it so strongly. I was told my homily at 5 pm Mass came across as "fire and brimstone"--which wasn't really my purpose.

After Mass, the retired priest had a baptism; after his baptism, we went to the local Mexican restaurant for dinner. We wanted to go wherever we thought the fewest St. Patrick's day revelers would be congregating--because then we'd face a huge crowd.

For some reason I couldn't get to sleep; so I was up till about 2 am; then up at 6:30 am to preach at 7 am...offer 9 am Mass...preach at 10:30 am Mass, and then offer Noon Mass. After that Mass, I got to make a Christian (baptism), which I love to do!

Well, I'm beat. I'm watching dreams die (March Madness), and in about 2 hours, the retired priests and I will go to a party in West Milton, put on by the retired priests who live there. They do it every year on Laetare Sunday.

Oh, and yes, I wore Rose vestments.

'No remedy'? No--God's Hand! (Sunday homily)

The Archbishop asked me
to preach the homily at all Masses this weekend,
because this is the weekend when each of us is asked
to make a commitment to the annual Catholic Ministry Appeal.

I was going to work my way up to this subject,
because right now many of you are still settling in, and tuning in.
But I’m jumping into it for a very simple reason.
This ministry appeal is important—
yet I have something else important to say.
In a sense, I have two homilies to give but I can only give one.

So first the Catholic Ministry Appeal.
It’s simple: we have six causes that no one really can dispute.
This provides for retired priests—
including Father Ang and Father Tom.
This provides for seminarians,
and that means more priests—and we need them.

This fund helps St. Rita School for the Deaf.
It helps Catholic Social Services.
I get calls all the time and I refer people to Catholic Social Services—
for counseling, for troubled families, for many other helps.
And then this fund goes for college campus ministry,
and ministry in hospitals and prisons.

There are times we may question this or that project where our money goes—
but can anyone really question the value of any of these?

So I’m asking your commitment;
today is the day to put your commitment card in the collection,
if you brought it; if you didn’t,
you can bring it another Sunday or mail it in.
If you want or need materials, they are in the back of church.

Now, I could stop there and you’d be happy with a shorter sermon.
But we’re in God’s Presence, we heard his Word just now,
And the first reading contains some of the saddest words
anywhere in Sacred Scripture;
in fact, they could be the saddest words we might ever hear:

“Until there was no remedy.”

Last Thursday at Mass, the reading was from the Prophet Jeremiah,
And the gist of that reading was God saying to Jeremiah:
“Go tell them—but it won’t work; they won’t listen!”

Same idea: “no remedy.”

And as I listened to that reading Thursday morning, I thought,
“They”? How easy to say it was someone else,
back then, who was stiff-necked.

What if it’s us?

We live in strange times with so many assaults on our Faith.
If there were but one, we could handle it better.
Our entertainment and media culture sells lies, especially to our young.
So many businesses seem to have no conscience;
So many questionable decisions: jobs go overseas
where workers are little better than slaves.

And our own government is moving deliberately
to mow down conscience, to reshape it according to its own vision.

How tempting it might be to go limp, stop fighting—it’s too much!

Consider this.

God is in control of these events.
In his providence, He is allowing his Church to undergo a trial.
If the President’s health-care mandate isn’t overturned,
in the next 12-18 months,
we are facing the shocking prospect
that we’ll either have to knuckle under to the government,
or else we’ll lose our schools, our hospitals and charities.

Notice what it’s all about; it’s about religious freedom, yes;
But its also about part of our Catholic Faith:
Our belief that the gift of married love
must always remain open to God giving the gift of life.

We have to decide: is this our Faith or not?
Is this something worth taking a stand—a costly stand—over?

If they said, “you can’t have a fish fry”—
we’d be mad about it, but we wouldn’t close our school over it.

This fight could easily have been over abortion;
or so-called same-sex marriage.
Then, we’d be defending a position
shared by many other religious groups—
and by people with no religion.

Instead God has allowed this confrontation to be over a doctrine
that is uniquely associated with the Catholic Church.

The spotlight is shining—for all the world to see—
not only on his Catholic Church,
but on a teaching that to so many, even many Catholics, seems foolish.
But remember what St. Paul said:
the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men!

So if you’ve ever wanted a sign to confirm
that this teaching on contraception is what God thinks?
God seems to think this is worth us fighting for.

In that light, then, this is a moment of conversion:
for us as Catholics, and for our culture.
No, the President and his allies didn’t seek that.

We didn’t either.
Truth to tell, for decades, bishops and priests
and many of the faithful have just avoided this whole subject.
It’s probably true that a large number of Catholics
don’t follow this teaching.
It’s demanding and a lot of folks don’t see a justification.
That status-quo could have gone on.

But notice: God has allowed things to develop
that we can’t kick the can down the road any longer!
This is the Hand of Almighty God!

So what do we do?

Week in and week out, we must bear witness to our Faith.

We have written Congress
and that will probably happen again down the road.
The Archbishop asked us to pray and fast for conversion, so let’s keep at that.
The bishops are under intense pressure to back down.

Pray for them; tell Archbishop Schnurr you support him.

But at the center is a listening heart.
Maybe the question shouldn’t be, what do we need to do,
But rather, what are you and I prepared to do?

As Lent leads us to Good Friday,
and as these troubled times lead us to our own Good Fridays,
we are likely to feel as the Apostles did: fear and defeat.

That’s not what happened on Good Friday.
That’s not what will happen to us.

The real Saint Patrick

Sadly, today--Saint Patrick's day--has become more about leprechauns and green beer than about the Saint. Saint Patrick, I hasten to inform you, was not a jolly elf dressed in green. He was a remarkable man who made his mark on history. If you want a sense of the man, take a look at the prayer associated with him:

The Breastplate of Saint Patrick

I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
through belief in the Threeness,
through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.

I arise today through the strength of Christ with His Baptism,
through the strength of His Crucifixion with His Burial,
through the strength of His Resurrection with His Ascension,
through the strength of His descent for the Judgment of Doom.

I arise today through the strength of the love of Cherubim
in obedience of Angels, in the service of the Archangels,
in hope of resurrection to meet with reward,
in prayers of Patriarchs, in predictions of Prophets,
in preachings of Apostles, in faiths of Confessors,
in innocence of Holy Virgins, in deeds of righteous men.

I arise today, through the strength of Heaven:
light of Sun, brilliance of Moon, splendour of Fire,
speed of Lightning, swiftness of Wind, depth of Sea,
stability of Earth, firmness of Rock.

I arise today, through God's strength to pilot me:
God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me,
God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me,
God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me,
God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me,
God's host to secure me:
against snares of devils, against temptations of vices,
against inclinations of nature, against everyone who
shall wish me ill, afar and anear, alone and in a crowd.

I summon today all these powers between me (and these evils):
against every cruel and merciless power that may oppose my body and my soul,
against incantations of false prophets,
against black laws of heathenry,
against false laws of heretics, against craft of idolatry,
against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,
against every knowledge that endangers man's body and soul.
Christ to protect me today
against poison, against burning,
against drowning, against wounding,
so that there may come abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me, Christ in me,
Christ beneath me, Christ above me,
Christ on my right, Christ on my left,
Christ in breadth, Christ in length, Christ in height,
Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,
Christ in the mouth of every man who speaks of me,
Christ in every eye that sees me,
Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
through belief in the Threeness,
through confession of the Oneness of the Creator of creation.
Salvation is of the Lord.
Salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of Christ.
May Thy Salvation, O Lord, be ever with us.

Life is good...

I got to sleep late today, and I have no appointments, and it's a beautiful day; I'm sitting on my front porch--too early for bugs, just little seedy stuff falling from the trees--drinking coffee and watching the world go by!

Life is good! Thank you Lord.

Sunday homilies

Sorry I didn't post my homilies (I had two) for the weekend; but I never actually wrote them. Some weeks, I am floundering around all week for what I think I should say, and come Saturday, I have perhaps a couple of ideas developed, and that is sometimes what I go with. Such was the case this past weekend.

I had two homilies because in Lent, we have rituals at certain Masses related to those who will enter the Church at Easter; and these occasion different readings. For the third, fourth and fifth Sundays of Lent, these are called the "scrutinies." So this affected the 10:30 am Mass.

My principal homily for the weekend began with the first reading and the context--Moses leading God's people out of Egypt to Mount Sinai where God gave his commandments. I pointed out that when Moses confronted Pharaoh, he consistently said something like, "Let my people go that they may worship me."

I pointed out that the first reading spends a lot of time developing the first several commandments--having to do with worshiping God; and then the remaining commandments are ticked off succinctly; as if to say that if we get worship right, the rest fits and works better. For some reason, however, I neglected to make this point at 7 and 9 am Masses.

To make the point further, I suggested folks look up the passage where--upon arriving at Mount Sinai, God invited Moses and the people to come up the mountain, "so that you can tell me how you wish to worship." After a pause, I said--I'm kidding; that never happened. Instead, God spent 40 days showing Moses how his people were to worship. Similarly, when our Lord gathered his Apostles, he showed them again: "do this in memory of me." And with some changes, we still are.

Also, along the way, I said that we often have discussions about Mass, about various aspects of Mass--music, the new translation, Latin-English, etc.--and it's usually in terms of, "I like/I don't like." But that misses the point. It isn't really about what we like or don't like. If we come to Mass with a checklist of the things that have to be just right--we are bound for disappointment. My homily may or may not be good; the music may or may not sit well with folks. Something will go wrong.

But when we see Mass for what it is: Mount Sinai happens here; Calvary happens here; God acts here; that will always happen. I think I ended by saying, "we're at Mount Sinai now: let's see what God will do."

In my 10:30 am homily, I talked about the ritual of the "scrutiny": it isn't so much the Church "scrutinizing" the Elect--those chosen for baptism at Easter--but the catechumens scrutinizing themselves and their choice for Christ. I honestly don't recall all I said, but I developed that point, explained the ritual, emphasized to the rest of the assembly what it means that these folks want what we have, talked about sharing our faith, etc. I also invited everyone to the Easter Vigil, so they could continue the Elects' journey to baptism. Keying off the first reading--in which Moses strikes the rock to provide God's people with water--I pointed out our baptismal font. Notice it's made out of stone, that's not an accident; that's the Rock from which the water of life will be drawn! I won't strike it--it's an antique!--but that's where the Elect will be led!

If anyone heard either homily, please add comments, especially if it was something you liked, didn't like or didn't understand or agree with.

Mass for Annunciation in Piqua

For those who are interested--and I know you're out there!--you are invited to participate in the Holy Mass on the Solemnity of the Annunciation, at the beautiful, newly renovated St. Boniface Parish Church, Monday, March 26, 7 pm.

We will have a Missa altissima cum omnes nidores et camparae (I'll let you google that and let me know what you come up with!), with the schola providing some beautiful music--although the prayers of the Mass will be principally in English, but there will be some in Latin.

I like to let people know about these things, both for those who like it, and for those who don't! Something for everyone, as Zero Mostel so memorably sang!

There might even be a special surprise, but you'll have to watch this space to find out what it might be!

This Astonishing Moment

Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio, 14 year old 20th century martyr of Mexico

I've been thinking about how remarkable this moment is for the Catholic Faith; there are so many things bound up in the seemingly sudden assault on religious freedom and on the Catholic Church in particular, and what follows will certainly not do justice to it.

But there is something profound at work. If this plays out as it seems it will--events can easily intervene to short-circuit the trajectory I describe below--then we are talking about an epochal event in the life of the Church. This is no mere blip. This is huge.

Here's what I see, presented inartfully, because if I wait until I can really polish this, I may not post it for awhile, or ever...

> We have a mounting confrontation between the government--and a very significant share of the culture--of the world's pre-eminent nation, and the Catholic Church. Moreover, the Church in the U.S., while not the largest national body of Catholics, nor the most energetic or enthusiastic, is, nonetheless, one of the healthier portions of the Church worldwide. It is certainly the richest and and plays a huge role in the life of the Church.

> This is a confrontation that goes to the heart of the Faith. Because it is national, there is little or no way for the Church to evade it, to seek a work-around, as she might if it were a state battle only (as has happened many times on this very issue of contraception and abortion). The bishops have rightly sensed they must take a stand. They have, thus far, made it hard for themselves to back down.

> Here is something I find very remarkable and providential: it involves at least two parts of our Faith that have either been under serious attack, or have been neglected. It involves our Church's teaching on human sexuality, particularly contraception, and it involves the fundamental constitution of the Church as built upon, and led by, the bishops.

Let me dwell on this.

For how many years have we experienced, in the precincts of our Church, a silence, punctuated infrequently by embarrassed, half-hearted perfunctory statements, on the subject of contraception and deliberate refusal of God's gift of fertility? We clerics have said just enough to refute, technically, the charge that we are silent or do not accept Church teaching; yet the subject has been widely neglected.

For myself, I do talk about it; if you search this blog, you'll find a number of homilies. I know many other priests have done the same. Yet we have not raised this subject nearly as forcefully as we have assaults on the unborn. And very candidly, it is far, far easier to deliver a strong homily on the Real Presence or on the imminence of divine judgment than it is on contraception. Even those of us who are willing to address the subject do so aware of the eggshells we're walking on.

This moment--these events--viewed from a supernatural perspective seem to mean only one thing: God has spoken and acted. He has allowed things to transpire such that we pretty much have to do so. Sooner or later, as this plays out, it will become necessary to explain why we Catholics are making such an issue about this. We clerics are duty-bound to do so; yet meanwhile, more and more of the laity are doing so.

> At this moment, we have the advantage, such as we've never had before, of means for the laity to fill the gaps created by clerical inaction.

I am praying--and I beg you to pray--that all our bishops and priests provide exactly the sort of teaching needed. But in the meantime, the laity are well able to act without us.

Consider that we have--whether from Vatican II or prior teaching--a strong notion that the laity must be engaged and speak out. And, at the same time, cable and satellite TV and the Internet and twitter all create a climate in which that is easier to do than ever in human history.

> This is not only about contraception; it's not only about religious freedom; it's also about the constitution of the Church.

Another doctrine under assault--from within as well as without--is the governance of the Church and the teaching authority.

One can visit the National (so-called) Catholic Reporter almost daily and see yet another installment of that wretched outfit's campaign to destroy the governance of the Church which our Savior himself instituted. It is the dream of the NcR and many others to overthrow the authority of the bishops to teach and govern. The running commentary from the NcR's own readers--who have been fed these lies for so long--tells the story, unfiltered by the euphemisms and doubletalk of the NcR's editors and polished contributors: they despise the bishops and utterly reject the doctrine of the Church about her teaching office. Namely, that the bishops, together with the pope, guide the authority of the Church as a whole to teach in the Name of Christ. The NcR and others long to seize the ring of power, to appoint themselves, or some Rousseau-ian "general will" as the true teaching authority; or they claim, falsely that this has already happened, either by action of the Second Vatican Council, or by some other sort of revolution.

Make no mistake, this is a big part of what's going on, and President Obama and his allies are only too happy to join in, for their own interests.

You have folks like Sister Keehan of the Catholic Health Association who has twice ridden to the rescue of Obama, in opposition to the teaching authority of the bishops. First when the bishops were withholding support from Obama's health care bill, until sufficiently pro-life protections were included. And again, when the bishops were united against Obama's contraception mandate.

Sister Keehan is only one of many players, within the Church, who either want to overthrow the teaching office of the bishops, or else are willing, for whatever reason, to cooperate with those efforts. Please understand--I have no idea whether all these folks realize what they are doing. I cannot read hearts so I will--until I have concrete reasons to do otherwise--assume they do not realize the harm they are doing. In the case of NcR, I cannot defend them--they knowingly and explicitly advocate the downfall of the bishops' teaching authority. And when they protest against my accusation, I will point out their own, regular readers certainly see it clearly enough. The NcR has very effectively "catechized" them in this view. Read your own readers' comments, NcR editors.

So here again, note how God has superintended this battle on this very ground.

This battle forces us to grapple with the question: who exercises the teaching office? Who speaks for Christ?

> This is also a time of purification and renewal.

In all of this, much will be demanded of all of us. I don't say that as though I am there yet. I am no paragon of virtue or self-denial. But it seems clear to me that as this unfolds--again, assuming the crisis is not averted, as it may be (see below)--that all of us who must defend the Church's teaching will be called to profound conversion.

Brace yourselves. It will get bad, often in unexpected ways.

Prepare to see people you trust and count on, fail--just as the Twelve saw Judas betray the Lord and Peter deny him.

Prepare to see the enemy and his cohorts find a weakness and exploit it. Dirty laundry will be aired. Any weapon to hand. Some of us clerics who speak out will be embarrassed by the fact that we are not perfect.

Prepare for temptations to remain silent, to remain passive, to trim and to get bogged down. The enemy will seek to sow confusion among our ranks. Our leaders are not perfect and they will make mistakes in judgment and execution. If we want to find fault, we will succeed. Our leaders almost certainly will not do everything right, so it will be very easy, from the ranks, to resent they didn't do it our way.

> All that said, do not despair or be discouraged. Recall the many times our Lord--presaged by many passages from the Old Testament--warned us of such times, of being overwhelmed by fear of the situation, of family and friends turning against each other, of very dark times.

These may or may not be such times--how can I know? But there is nothing that can happen that we have not been prepared for. Remember that.

> This is a remarkable ecumenical moment. It may bear fruit such as we cannot imagine. Please pray for that!

Consider who is lining up together:

The Catholic Church
The Orthodox Churches
Evangelicals
Many Jews
Many Muslims
Many others of various faiths, or none.

These are mighty forces who have centuries, if not millenia, of distrust and hurt to overcome. But it is so often true that, if you want to bring squabbling folks together, present them with a common enemy. The enemy has just done that.

One possible fruit of this moment could be healing of divisions within Christendom. I am not so smart nor courageous enough to predict more than that. All I can say is, you can see the forces lining up the same as I can. Make your own predictions.

> I truly believe the Obama Administration has made a fundamental mistake. The President has chosen a course that, if it plays out, will awaken and unite the Catholic Church and many other allies as a powerful force. It may be that he will realize this and find an escape route--and it may be he can still quiet down the forces he has awakened. It may not. I just don't know.

I wonder if the President doesn't cynically count on the courts to save his bacon. It may be he expects that even before the election. Then he gets the benefit of this--his allies are charged up and turn out--while his opponents relax once the danger seems to recede.

Alternately, he may have bargained for that after the election.

Or, he may even plan to give a gracious concession on religious liberty after the election, when he doesn't care so much about the outrage of his allies.

Consider this: the mandate, even with some, superficial, modifications, goes into effect. The courts (improbably but not impossibly), uphold it. Our bishops choose varying paths, but let us hopefully suppose they mostly choose either to close or sell off institutions, or else defiance (I call this more hopeful, only in contrast to the option of capitulation). Then comes the confrontation: when the fines are levied but not paid; and the Obama Administration must take enforcement action.

And here I raise a question--not being familiar with the legal issues involved--might not the Administration simply choose to refrain from enforcement? Tolerate the disobedience, and by doing so, discredit the bishops who predicted a terrible outcome? Could he not allow that to go on for some time, until our side is lulled back to sleep?

> In all this, the hand of God seems undeniable.

If you do not believe in God, or you wonder if he is largely absent from human affairs; if you wonder if the Catholic Church's claims really hold water, consider these events.

Why should this battle even be happening?

Why on this ground--over claims the Catholic Church almost alone makes?

Had this been a battle over abortion or same-sex marriage, then it would not involve claims that are uniquely those of the Catholic Church.

I predict there will be many folks who will, in these events, realize God is validating the Catholic Church--with all her blemishes and wounds--as the visible Body of Christ on earth.

Fellow Catholics, if you have ever wondered about, or doubted, the claims of our Church--if you have wondered about the teaching on contraception, if God really cared about it--then consider this moment. Why would God put his Church on trial over this issue--if it did not matter to him?

Consider what I just wrote. God is choosing to allow his Church to enter into a terrible trial...over contraception. Do you think it possible that this matters quite a lot to God?

Something momentous is at work. We may be frightened, and perhaps we should be; yet isn't there something exciting and hopeful about this as well?

Let our hearts and voices resound with the thrilling last words of the martyrs of Mexico and Spain: Viva Christo Rey!

Update 1: Welcome New Advent readers! And thanks for the Advent-alanche! Feel free to look around...)

Update 2: welcome readers from The Pulp.it and Over the Rhine and Into the Tiber!

Walking by faith in a gathering storm (Sunday homily)

The first reading is strange—and easily misunderstood.
But let’s be clear about one thing:
God did not want Abraham to slay his son Isaac.

So why did this happen?

It helps to recall the rest of Abraham’s story.
Remember, Abraham and Sarah couldn’t have children—
yet God promised they would have descendants
as numerous as the stars in the sky.

Along the way to answering God’s call,
Abraham took several wrong turns.
This reading represents the climax
of Abraham’s arc of faith—
after failing so many times,
this is when Abraham passes the test.

If we ever feel we’re being tested,
remember it isn’t for some need of God
that we’re tested.

After all, when we take a test in school,
it isn’t really for the teacher.
We’re the ones who need to know our arithmetic—
we’re the ones who need to know we passed.

And while God knew what was in Abraham’s heart,
it was Abraham who did not know
he would pass—until he did.

What Abraham wanted to give,
but found so hard to give—
what you and I find so hard to give—
is total commitment.

Offering his only son back to God—
that is how he finally did it.

Let’s make this personal.
What in your life is most valuable? Most treasured?
Who, or what, would you hold tight against yourself
until your last breath died away?

Now: can you imagine bringing that to God?
As precious as my spouse, my children,
my career, my dreams are—I offer them back to you!

It’s not that God wants to take them away.
The point is, can we dare to say to God:
I am willing to give you
that which means everything to me?

That’s what it means to walk by faith.
That’s what Abraham finally discovered—
and if we could hear him speak to us, he would say,
“that’s what I want you to discover.”

Lent can be a powerful way we share our faith.

To the extent that we Catholics take Lent seriously:
making real sacrifices, and really turning from sin,
and really giving of ourselves to others,
how powerful a witness to Christ that would be!

We’ve talked about the changing social climate.
Very suddenly, as Catholics we are facing growing hostility,
from our government in particular.

This week the Senate refused to overturn the order
that will force us, as Catholics,
either to violate our consciences,
or else to shut down our schools, our universities,
our hospitals and our charities.

The Archbishop of Chicago has announced
that if the President’s mandate is not overturned,
Catholic hospitals in his diocese will cease to exist.

Powerful forces are gearing up against us.
The head of the National Organization of Women—
along with the former speaker of the House*
are saying that we Catholics want to kill women.

No—let’s get the facts right.
All we are asking is to be able
to operate our Catholic institutions,
and for us as individuals,
to live according to our Catholic beliefs.

And right now, the message is
that we won’t be allowed to do that anymore.

So let’s put it plainly. In the next few years,
if things don’t change,
it’s going to be a lot harder to be a Catholic.

Brace yourself. Worse is coming.

When our Lord took James, Peter and John
up the mountain and he showed them his glory,
he was preparing them for the storm.

Even after, Peter still lost his nerve;
James ran away; only John stood firm.

There’s no soft answer and there’s no short-cut.
We’re going to have to dig the foundations very deep—
or we’ll be swept away in the gathering storm.

But if these realities are shocking,
do not let them overcome you.

Remember, the Lord told us ahead of time
this would happen.
And he gave us very straightforward instructions
about how to live our lives until he comes again.

And it goes right back to the example of Abraham:
everything we treasure, we give to God.

He will usually give them back to us to safeguard,
but we always remember:
God, this is your family; this is your job;
this is your business. It’s all yours.

In a few days, you will get a letter
from Archbishop Schnurr
about the Catholic Ministry Appeal.

One of the things we keep doing—
till the Lord comes—is caring for one another.

This appeal funds campus ministries.
Our college students are whipped by strong forces:
they need Christ on campus!

This fund pays the pension of our retired priests.
It pays for Catholic Social Services
to help the neediest members of the community.

It helps our seminary—
and in recent years, we are seeing our numbers increase.
Good news! But costs are up too.

It also helps St. Rita’s School for the Deaf
and ministry to prisons and hospitals.

I give to the Catholic Ministry Appeal
and I hope you will join me in doing so as well.

When Abraham gave his only son back to God,
God told him his countless descendants
would triumph over their enemies.

We are those countless stars that Abraham hoped for.
And we will see the Lord win the battle for us.
What did we hear St. Paul say:
If God is for us, who can be against us?

Amen? Amen.

* After the 4 pm Mass, I omitted reference to ex-Speaker Pelosi. I double-checked the story I'd seen, and found that while she did, indeed, refer to killing women, she merely made that accusation against Republicans, not specifically against Catholics.

What does a pastor do? Some of everything!

Well, it's been crazy, and it will get crazier.

The last two weeks, I've been working on a lot of things (beyond the usual):

> Helping put together a retreat for our students preparing for confirmation.

We have a vacancy in our religious education/youth ministry program, so that makes me the DRE. Anything involving kids means lots of record-keeping, making sure every permission slip is turned in, and then there are checks from families, and volunteers and chaperones to line up.

We have a group of four seminarians leading the retreat, but a mother kindly reminded me that some of the 8th grade girls might, if they have any problems, prefer to talk to a mother, not a seminarian. Point taken! So I made sure we have a mother and female teacher there overnight.

Also, I went out to get the snacks the kids and leaders will consume. I have no idea how much to buy, but I didn't want to run out. It doesn't help to have 50 grumpy 8th graders. I was also advised to avoid anything with red dye in it and peanuts. Good advice!

So what did I get?

In addition to hotdogs and buns and ingredients for 'smores--for the campfire--I purchased:

- Oreos and Nilla wafers (generic where possible; except generic Oreos had peanuts so no-go)
- Pretzels and cheese crackers
- Lemonade--no red dye!--to make up in 5-gallon coolers. No pop!
- No candy or chocolate; I thought it would be unfair for those who may have given them up for Lent and, after all, it is Lent!

I warned them I'd get pickled herring and Limberger cheese, but I relented.

> I have a penance service to organize for my two parishes, plus a neighboring parish that joins in. I have six of the eight priests needed. More calls to make.

> I just made a call to one of the families, whose son won't make the retreat because he's ill.

> I have a dinner I organize for priests for Holy Thursday--just got the invitations out and I have some other work to do for that.

> There is a stack of things on my desk, and several emails, that need attention. I've been apologizing to folks this week for being late in returning calls and not giving their items the attention they deserve. Next week, God willing.

> I'm a member of Kiwanis and they had their annual pancake breakfast today. I was there two hours, then I had to hit Wal Mart for the snacks and then here to write my homily. Just finished it before writing this post.

> The 8th graders will be checking in at 3 pm today before Mass, then heading up for the retreat. I'll be heading up there around 7:30, to lead exposition and to hear confessions, along with another priest.

I have that unsettling feeling I'm forgetting something. Pray for me!

Fill this ark! (Sunday homily)

Why do we have the readings we have for this Sunday?

Noah and the ark; deliverance through water; baptism.
Our Lord--who is a man like us--
driven to the desert to wrestle with evil.

The readings make sense when you remember
that there are people preparing for baptism.
We have three people from each parish
who look forward to baptism this Easter.

Lent is their time
to wrestle with that decision for 40 days.

For those of us who are baptized,
we wrestle with the things that are in our lives
that are at odds with our Faith--which pull us away.

Remember: when our friends are baptized at Easter,
all of us will renew the promises of our own baptism
at the same time.

And while the sacrament of confession
is a good idea all year long,
this time of year reminds us
that confession is a kind of second baptism.
Fresh and clean. New life. Start over.

There’s something else.
God chooses us to be like Noah,
offering life to a world inundated by evil.

Here’s a curious fact about the story of Noah.
You have to go read the whole story in Genesis 6 and 7.

Now, everyone knows that God sent Noah
to get a pair of every animal.
What many don’t notice is that God send Noah
a second time to get more animals.
You can see for yourself in chapter 7 of Genesis.

Why would God send Noah for even more animals?
Clearly there was more room
in the ark than originally intended.

Perhaps God was hoping for more people
than only Noah’s family?

Our Church, our Catholic Faith,
is the ark of our salvation.

Those folks preparing for baptism,
not just in our parish, but worldwide,
are the folks we’ve drawn to the ark.
Good work!

But look around: there’s a lot of room
in this ark for more people!

'40 Days of Spiritual Battle' (Sunday homily)

As you probably know, Ash Wednesday is this week.
So it’s time to get ready and make our plans.

Lent has two purposes that go together.
It’s a time of preparation
to celebrate the heart of our Faith:
Jesus dying for us and rising from the dead,
to give us life that lasts forever.

When someone has a wedding
or an anniversary coming up,
you don’t just put it together the day before.
That is…I guess you can if you want,
but I’ve never met a bride who was satisfied with that.
So, gentlemen…good luck with that!

If it’s really worth doing, it’s worth preparing for.

But Lent has another purpose: conversion.

At the heart of our faith we admit something that humbles us:
We are sinners. We turn from God,
we bring pride and greed and lust and wrath
to our daily lives, that creates conflict
and when you multiply that by six billion souls,
There’s the sad story
of most of the suffering in the world.

As bad as a tornado or a crippling disease is,
the disasters spawned
by our sinful choices or neglect are even worse.

Changing the world starts with changing ourselves. Ouch!

So, on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday,
if you’re between 18 and 59,
and in good health, you are obliged to fast.
That means just one meal,
and maybe a snack or two besides.

Also on Ash Wednesday, as well as each Friday,
everyone over 14 is obliged to abstain from meat.
If you’re traveling or a guest of someone else,
use common sense.

Beyond that, we all make our own decisions
about some extra sacrifice,
Extra prayer, extra generosity, as what we “do for Lent.”

Why do we do these things?

It’s not that we’re “paying” for our sins.
Jesus already did that.
It’s because conversion is hard work.
These are the tools.


A lot of folks struggle with bad habits.
And they often fail over and over.
They ask, what can I do?

Well, one thing I suggest is go to confession frequently.

Yes, it does humble ones pride
to go to confession week after week,
or even more often than that.
Sometimes what we need
is to have our pride knocked down a peg.

But remember, these are sources of grace—
God’s power to help us change.
Why do people take vitamins? To fortify their bodies.
The sacraments are what we take to fortify our souls.

Also, if you find you have a habit involving appetite—
eating, drinking, or some other pleasure—
you may want to try fasting.

Now, let me be candid: I don’t like to fast!
As if that wasn’t obvious!

But the thing about fasting,
or other forms of self-denial,
is that it is kind of like
what people in competitive sports say:
they need to be “keyed up” and focused on the game.

Fasting does that.

When you give up something you like,
and then you get that craving,
it forces you to make a choice.

Either you can say, “Darn, God made me do this!”
Or, you man up and say, “No—I chose this!”

The truth is, we are engaged in spiritual battle.
Battle for our own souls and that of others.
But we can easily be lulled into sleeping through it.
Fasting and self-denial
help keep us awake to the battle—
It’s a way of saying, “I don’t want to be AWOL!
I want to stand for something!”

And this isn’t just about our own conversion—
it starts there, but it’s even more about
the conversion of others.

Most members of my family don’t practice the Faith.
What about your family?
When we pray for their conversion,
we’re like the men in the Gospel
who bring their friend to the Lord.


After all, a lot of us
are going to start Lent with big ideas;
and somewhere along the line, we’re going to regret it!

So when we pray intensely during Lent,
we’re praying to support each other.
I confess I will waver in my Lenten promises.
Pray for me, please!

Finally, we pray for our nation.
In the Scriptures, whenever
God’s people were faced with a crisis,
They put on sackcloth and ashes, they fasted and prayed.

The alarm bells are sounding for religious freedom
in our country.

I know you’ve heard in the media
that the President backed down.
But it’s just not true.
Most of you know
the President proposed to force all of us to accept,
as part of health care,
that we’d have to pay to provide
contraception, sterilization and abortion-causing drugs.

Then we all heard the President say
he would change his mandate—
and the media said, “problem solved.”
Now, let’s skip over, for a moment,
the fact that many problems remained
even with his proposed “accommodation.”
Let’s skip over that for a moment.

How many of you knew
that after the President promised a change…

He went ahead and put into effect—as law—
the original rules?

Let me say that again:
he didn’t pull it back to be reworked.
The mandate he put into effect as law
was not changed AT ALL.

In any case, as Archbishop Schnurr
explains in a letter in the bulletin today,
even that promised change
doesn’t do much about the problem.

Let me give you an example.

There’s a religious order called the Sisters of Life.
They are dedicated to promoting the dignity of life.
As sisters, of course, they take a vow of chastity.
They won’t marry.


Under either version of the President’s order,
they are forced to buy health care
that includes contraceptives and sterilization
and drugs that cause abortion.
Since they take a vow of chastity,
they obviously don’t need it.

More to the point,
it violates their conscience to have to be involved in it.
Yet if they refuse, they break the law,
and they will be fined and punished by our government.
Of course, it’s the same for all our religious orders,
all our Catholic schools and hospitals, for all of us.

So if you’re wondering why
you’re being summoned to 40 days of spiritual battle,
there it is.

Vignettes in a pastor's life

Here are some events that arise in my ministry that you may find interesting:

> Several weeks ago I got an email from a parishioner--a relative had held back from becoming Catholic because of a marriage issue; he was now dying and wondered what could be done. I wrote back saying I'd be eager to talk to him, I had hope we could solve the problem.

> I met with the man. He was at the end of his tether. His marriage could be regularized, if time allowed (since he was never baptized, his prior marriage was not sacramental. A sacramental baptism cannot be dissolved, but if it wasn't valid in the first place, that fact can be ascertained and declared--i.e., a decree of nullity. But a natural--non-sacramental--marriage can be dissolved by the authority of the Church, if it has already ended); but in his case, no time. But if the spouses are living as brother and sister...no issue. I was able to baptize him, confirm him, give him his first communion, and the anointing of the sick, all in his bed.

> Not many days later, he went to his reward--as I said at his funeral Mass yesterday, to his second and eternal communion.

> I just got a call a bit ago about an upcoming parish event. The event usually takes place in the gym; however, since last year, we installed a high-grade wood floor, and we naturally don't want to damage it. So the subject has been on the rumor mill for some time--that I wasn't going to allow it. (Not true.) Instead, my proposal was, first: do we still want the event there or would it work elsewhere? If the latter, we will get a tarp to put down, as others do. Over the past few weeks, I've had people ask me about it, and I kept saying, no worries, once the person in charge contacts me, we'll work it out. That call came today, and we're working it out. I could have called myself; however the person in charge changes from year to year.

> Yesterday, after the funeral Mass, I returned home to work on notes for a couple of high school classes I'll be teaching this week at Lehman Catholic High School in Sidney. My friend, the pastor of Holy Angels in Sidney, is leading the class but couldn't be there today through Thursday, so I'm the substitute teacher. We're going to talk about contraception and related issues. I spent much of yesterday creating a "powerpoint"--something I don't do very often. I plan on giving the kids permission to laugh at my unartful slides--assuming the technology works. If not, I printed out the slides and I will take the Catechism, and another handout. Lesson: never assume your technology will work!

> Sunday night, I was headed over to St. Boniface to rub shoulders for a bit with the youth group, at their "Barbeque in the Snow" event. While there, I remembered I wanted to borrow the black vestment--from that parish's sacristy--for the funeral the next day. I went to the sacristy door--and my key broke off in the lock! Thankfully, I was able to fish out the broken end.

Now what do I do? Well, I knew someone in the chapel would be able to help me, so I went into the chapel. When I walked in, a parishioner was there, talking to the folks praying there. He had something on his mind and was very happy to see me: "I need to talk to you Father!" I said no problem and we walked into the sacristy where we could talk privately, and the folks in the chapel could pray. Of course I'll say nothing more about it--but note this fact: had my key not broken off, I would have had no reason to step into the chapel at the moment.

> I'm currently exchanging emails with a committee of parishioners who are assisting me on a project. We're going to have some difficulties coming up with a day and time to meet. Even exchanging emails takes a fair amount of time--in case you wonder (a) what father does all day and (b) why doesn't father get things done faster, and (c) why doesn't father get more input from parishioners.

> Oh, and I just remembered I have to finish our annual handout for opportunities for Lent--as Ash Wednesday is about 8 days away. I better get moving...

'Be not afraid!' (Sunday homily--action on Obama mandate)

The Scriptures give us images of infection--
skin disease, and the fear that it will spread.
But there’s another kind of infection--the good kind.

Notice what St. Paul said: whatever you do, do it for God’s glory.

And notice what happened when our Lord healed the man with leprosy:
the news spread--like an infection!

Looking at the big picture, the state of our society:
What kind of infections are spreading?

The good news is, the Gospel is spreading.
Christianity is growing worldwide.

The bad news is that a lot of false gospels are spreading too--
and they have powerful forces behind them.

Take a look at the events of the past few weeks.

We were stunned to learn our government
was going to force us to act against our own faith.

As you know, the bishops spoke as one, saying
“we cannot--we will not--comply with this unjust law.”

A tide of protest began to spread--
so much so that the President had to acknowledge it.

So on Friday, he offered what he called an “accommodation.”

I realize a lot of the media--and some prominent Catholics--
have quickly said this solves the problem.

But let’s be clear--Christ did not give the New York Times
authority to teach in his name;
he gave that responsibility to Peter and the Apostles,
and to those who would come after them: our bishops.

And if ever there was a time when we need to be clear
on who speaks for the Church of Jesus Christ, now is that time!

So let’s hear what Archbishop Dolan of New York--
who is the president of the U.S. bishops conference--
had to say on this.

He said this so-called solution, while a first step,
as it is, it is “unacceptable.”

Why? Because the government is still forcing everyone
to go along with contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs,
as part of health care.
Putting the mandate on the insurance companies
doesn’t really change much.

Here’s something not everyone realizes:
a lot of organizations, including many of our Catholic organizations,
act as their own insurance company.

It’s kind of shell game--as someone said,
it’s like a teenager saying, I didn’t buy the beer--
I got my big brother to buy it!

Archbishop Dolan also points out that the threat
is still hanging over our heads:
the power of a bureaucrat to sweep away our rights
with the stroke of a pen.

So our bishops are continuing to say we need legislation
that will take that weapon out of the government’s hands.
That’s why there are postcards in your pews today.
I’m going to come back to those in a moment.

At the outset, I said the Scriptures show us the power of infection--
both the bad kind, and the good kind.

And we’re seeing it.
Fifty years ago, Pope Paul VI issued a letter, Humanae Vitae,
in which he addressed the subject of using
artificial methods of regulating birth.

And in that letter, he reiterated the Church’s constant teaching
that by God’s design, love, procreation, marriage and family
are all bound together.

We have means--such as Natural Family Planning--that respect this design.
But artificial means set aside God’s design--and we don’t get to do that.

Because many expected he would change the teaching,
his letter was ridiculed--even by many Catholics.

For various reasons, his words have been widely ignored.

So now, we have the humiliation of the President himself saying,
look the Catholics themselves don’t believe it.

For 50 years, people have vigorously spread the promise of contraception.

Meanwhile, a lot of bishops, a lot of priests, and a lot of Catholics,
have either gone along, or for whatever reason, chose not to say much.

So…I’m talking about it now.

In your bulletin you’ll see a handout like this.
There are a couple of talks this week--
one for teens and one for adults--that will talk about this.

I’m addressing the subject briefly; these talks will go into depth.
Please take advantage of them.

When Pope Paul VI issued his teaching 50 years ago,
he made some predictions. Let’s see what happened.

He said, first, that if these artificial means were to spread,
they would greatly lower the moral climate.

Who would say that the moral climate today is not much worse?

The pope said that this would damage marriages.

Can anyone claim that marriages
are in better shape today than 50 years ago?

In fact, those who promoted contraception claimed it would help marriages;
and they still claim it prevents abortions.

The facts all go the other way.
Divorce has skyrocketed;
Families are broken; more children than ever grow up without both parents;
birth control is freely available,
and we have a million abortions a year.

The promises were false. And yet, they’ve been spread far and wide.

And then Pope Paul said this:

Careful consideration should be given to the danger
of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities
who care little for the precepts of the moral law…

Who will prevent public authorities from favoring
those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective?
Should they regard this as necessary,
they may even impose their use on everyone.

And now we have lived to see that prediction fulfilled.

So we are left with a very uncomfortable fact:
Those who believe in this false hope
have done a far better job of spreading their message,
than we have ours.

So while we have to deal with the threat at hand from our government,
we might also do some soul-searching
about how well we’ve spread the message of our faith.

Is this uncomfortable? Does this teaching demand sacrifice?
Do some wish I’d offer something more pleasant?
Of course!

He said, “take up your cross.”

In every age, in every society,
members of the Church have faced a confrontation
between the Gospel of the Cross, and all the counterfeits.

We’ve been around 2,000 years.
This is hardly the first time
we’ve faced government trying to push us around and it won’t be last.

He told us this would happen--why are we surprised?

As I said, there are three postcards,
one for Speaker Boehner, one for Senator Brown,
and one for Senator Portman.
They are three different colors so you can easily tell them apart.

If you haven’t already, please take one of each for yourself and fill it out.
Anyone of any age can sign one, it’s our right to speak out.

In a moment, the ushers will come and collect them--
we are going to have volunteers come next week
and put postage on them and mail them.

If you want to help with that, call the office Monday.

Sending three postcards costs about a dollar.
If you can afford to contribute a dollar, great, put it in with the postcards.
But even if you can’t, still put in your postcards;
someone else I’m sure will throw in some extra.

The ushers will come forward now and begin collecting the postcards.

In all of this, I admit I’ve been angry.
I think we have good reason to be angry.
I’ve been shocked and broken hearted--
To have the country we all love so much to go down this road.

And I think a lot of us are tempted to despair.
A lot are saying, we can’t stop it, everything just gets worse.

Don’t give into that temptation!
This is when we need fortitude--courage.
To quote one of our revolutionary heroes:
“These are the times that try men’s souls.”

Fortitude! That is a gift of the Holy Spirit through baptism.
Christ chose us, in this time, to face this challenge.
He trusts that we will be equal to it.
And He promises, with his own blood as proof, that he stands with us.

As our beloved Pope John Paul said so often:
“Be not afraid!”

Bishops term Obama offer a first step--but not enough

New opportunity to dialogue with executive branch
Too soon to tell whether and how much improvement on core concerns
Commitment to religious liberty for all means legislation still necessary

WASHINGTON— The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sees initial opportunities in preserving the principle of religious freedom after President Obama’s announcement today. But the Conference continues to express concerns. “While there may be an openness to respond to some of our concerns, we reserve judgment on the details until we have them,” said Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, president of USCCB.

“The past three weeks have witnessed a remarkable unity of Americans from all religions or none at all worried about the erosion of religious freedom and governmental intrusion into issues of faith and morals,” he said.

“Today’s decision to revise how individuals obtain services that are morally objectionable to religious entities and people of faith is a first step in the right direction,” Cardinal-designate Dolan said. “We hope to work with the Administration to guarantee that Americans’ consciences and our religious freedom are not harmed by these regulations.”

More on Obama's War on Us

I can't take a lot of time on this, but here are some items...

> Two weekends ago, our Archbishop directed his priests to read a letter at all Masses, and to provide the letter to the faithful. A similar request went out from bishops across the country, in most dioceses. This includes the Archdiocese for the Military.

However, someone in the Army interfered; directed the letter not be read; and the letter that was posted was censored.

Stop for a moment and absorb that. This is in the United States of America.

> At Over the Rhine and Into the Tiber I read this:

From www.barackobama.com, as quote this morning in an article on American Thinker:

Most women — including 98 percent of Catholic women — who have had sex have used contraception, according to a study by the Guttmacher Institute.

“Have had sex.” Ever? “Have used contraception.” Ever?

As I posted there:

There is something worse at issue here. What bleeping business is it, of the President or any of his political allies, what percentage of Catholics (or members of any other religion) actually observe the teachings of their religion?

The claim may be true or false; it may give us Catholics cause for reflection or catechesis; but that’s all separate.

Where is the outrage that our President chooses to justify a policy on this basis?

Imagine if they passed a law–a la France–forbidding women from wearing veils–and Muslims protested that it violates their freedom; and the argument was, well, most of you Muslim women don’t wear the veil anyway.

The response is, “listen big government tyrant–whether we (Catholics/Jews/Muslims/etc.) are observant about our own faith is none of your business.

Once again, I think this is a huge deal. I cannot think of a time when any president ever involved himself in a theological or disciplinary matter within our Church. That was one of the great blessings of this country--that for the first time, the Church did not worry about interference from temporal authority.

Now it is President Obama who will go down in history as the first president--and God grant, the only--to transgress that understanding and to reach out to manipulate the Catholic Church.

> Postcards in the pews this weekend.

In Piqua, we're going to have postcards for parishioners to complete, which we will collect and mail. We'll be sending them to our Senators and Speaker Boehner. The text (for Boehner) is as follows:

Dear Speaker Boehner:

I urge you to schedule a vote for “The Respect for Rights of Conscience Act” (H.R. 1179, S. 1467), to block any attempt to force any American to buy or participate in health care that violates his or her conscience, such as the recent order by the Department of HHS concerning contraception, sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs being included in health care plans.

My religious freedom, protected by the First Amendment, is non-negotiable! All Americans, regardless of their faith, are in danger. We will watch closely to see how you vote.

Sincerely,