• Bulletin Board, Announcements, Calendar
• Welcome and Website Protocol
• Editorial - Op Ed
• Article Archive

Print this page

Article Categories

• Book Reviews
• Open Letter
• Editorials
• Notes, Quotes & Comments
• Pastor's Study
• Project Millstones
• Sidebar Comments
• Weekly Message

Links

AMERICA Magazine
A balanced Catholic weekly magazine published by the jesuits of the United States for an intelligent Catholic readership. Go online to subscribe.

Liturgy
This link will keep 'parishioners-at-large' in touch with current creative liturgy sources and resources that respect a variety of 'traditions' within the Church.

Voice of the Faithful
A 'movement' of lay Catholics 'inspired' by the abuse scandal calling for greater accountability of bishops to 'Catholics in the Pew.'

Survivos' Network for those Abused by Priests or Religious
A National Network of self-help support groups for people abused by clergy or religious.

Bishop Accountability
Vital information about the disclosure of sexual abuse and related issues affecting Catholics in the pew and the manner in which Bishops continue to exempt themselves from accountability

National Catholic Reporter
A national Catholic lay newspaper covering events not usually covered or presented with a clerical bias in the local diocesan press or but of concern and interest to Catholics.

COMMONWEAL Magazine
A 'lay' Catholic weekly publication with an accent on an intelligent analysis and commentary on curent issues, trends and concerns of interest to Catholics.

Search

Daily Scripture

+ 7th Week of Easter

Much ado about nothing or, is there something to it?

Readings: Acts 19:1-8 Psalm 68:2-7 John 16:29-33

Paul traveled through the interior of the country and down to Ephesus where he found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” They answered him, “We have never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” [Acts 19:1-3]

Depending on one’s sacramental theology and pastoral practice, this text has been variously interpreted. For example, those who work with the RCIA (catecheumenate) hold that the sacrament of Confirmation should be administered with Baptism as it was in the early Church. It is one of the sacraments of initiation—Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. The Eastern Rite of the Roman Catholic Church has retained the tradition of administering all three at Baptism. Yes, the infant receives a small piece of the Eucharist bread. And so in the Eastern Rite, there is no formal celebration of First Holy Communion at the age of reason or Confirmation by the bishop at whatever age the local diocese has determined the age of maturity appropriate for Confirmation. All three sacraments are administered shortly after birth.

Others feel that the celebration of First Communion and Confirmation at a later age ensures the participation of youngsters in parish religious education programs – at least until Confirmation. In this case, many Catholics view Confirmation as the completion of or graduation from religious studies.

In recent years I have become convinced that the RCIA folks and the Eastern Rite Catholics have it right. All three sacraments of initiation should be administered together. First Holy Communion and Confirmation have become more social than spiritual. I do not mean to suggest that there is no connection or that there should be no celebration after sacramental ceremonies but for many, the accent is on the wrong syllable.

The path from Baptism to Christian maturity is life-long and the benchmarks for progress are not easily measured by grouping children by age or grade level for a period of preparation that is largely academic.

This is not to suggest that religious education is optional. Faith development is unique to each person within the context first of family and then of parish. Religious education / formation is intended to provide insight into faith development at an age-appropriate level.

Catholicism has become ‘child-centered’ the result of which, we have an adult population whose religious and spiritual development stopped at Confirmation.

The celebration of Eucharist is the primary setting for faith formation. Religious education is a necessary component but detached from Eucharist, it remain just another subject to master.

Of course this all assumes that the parish celebration of the Eucharist is truly inclusive and meaningful rather than just an empty ritual. The parish at worship should be a rendition of a community of faith that strives to live its faith ‘in the town square’ as I mentioned in Sunday’s homily.

Notwithstanding my commitment to religious dialogue, I do believe that effective dialogue is based on the assumption that although both parties are knowledgeable about the topic. Though they may have different perspectives, they are not based on ignorance of the subject.

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time 'C'

Saturday June 12, 2010

There is no sin that can overwhelm God’s mercy.

In order to get the gist of Nathan’s words to David, we need to read the entire story of David’s misdeed and subsequent cover-up in the Second Book of Samuel, chapters eleven and twelve. It’s a sordid tale of David’s lust after Bathsheba and his sinister conspiracy to do away with Uriah her faithful husband and heroic commander of David’s army.

The first reading hardly does justice to David’s sin and in effect almost sweeps his crime under the rug.

Nathan’s encounter with David was climaxed by a parable about a rich man and a poor man.

The rich man had flocks and herds in great numbers. But the poor man had nothing at all except one little ewe lamb that he had bought. He nourished her, and she grew up with him and his children. She was like a daughter to him. Now, the rich man received a visitor, but he took the poor man’s ewe lamb instead of his own and made a meal of it for his visitor.’”

David exclaimed to Nathan: “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this merits death! He shall restore the ewe lamb fourfold because he has done this and has had no pity.”

But Nathan said to David: “You are the man!” and continued with the harsh sentence of retribution. “You have done this deed in secret, but I will bring it about in the presence of all Israel, and with the sun looking down.”

The story continues this morning with David’s deep remorse and confession of guilt followed by Nathan’s absolution on behalf of God.

It’s a dramatic narrative of how even the greatest can succumb to the most heinous of sins. Those in the highest places are not exempt from the greatest falls. But Jesus was born in the line of David and it was Jesus’ willingness to dine and die with the greatest sinners that resulted in the justification and redemption of all from the least to the greatest.

It will be eight years next week since the bishops of the United States met in Dallas to hear the heartrending stories of a lifetime and more—the stories of young and old, victims of abuse by men and women of the cloth, victims whose only weakness was their innocence.

Equal to the sin was the spin of the cover-up of the guilty and the moral assassination of those who stood with victims against their perpetrators.

Now eight years later after the expenditure of over 1.5 billion dollars some in high places would convince us that David’s sin is past and that wrongs have been righted, the debt has been paid and there is no need for remorse. But last week our Holy Father, Pope Benedict, in his closing remarks in the ceremony concluding the year of the priests expressed a different point of view as he pleaded for forgiveness from victims of clergy abuse and the forgiveness of God.

What would it be like if our bishops and the Pope himself were to stand with David and the woman who washed Jesus feet as they speak to us in these or similar words:

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

“We stand naked before you and before the world. Never in our lifetime, have we been so conscious of what it must have been like to be crucified with Christ as one of the thieves. We are saddened that it has taken a crisis as grave as this to awaken us to the fact that, in the words of our young parishioners, ‘we have not been there for you!’ In the course of time, we have assumed the role of administrators and fiscal managers instead of shepherds. We are ashamed that we have listened to those who tried to exempt us of the responsibility to care for those who were so brutally exposed to wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

“We accept this crisis as an opportunity, indeed, as a most serious challenge to open the door of our hearts to you, especially to those who have been wounded by the sins of our brothers in ministry. Beyond this, we want to confess our negligence in turning a deaf ear to so many other areas of concern to you and promise that we will put aside our preoccupation with structures and institutions so that we may concentrate on the pure work of the gospel.”

“We are only too keenly aware that we are deeply moved by sincere people in the pew and those who are not in the pew because they feel excluded by canonical barriers that keep them from the Eucharist table: divorced Catholics unable to obtain a canonical annulment, priests whose vocation to marriage prohibits them from serving in any pastoral capacity in church ministry, gay people still attempting to find a place at the table. These are only a few of the categories for whom Church discipline has become an obstacle.”

“We know that it is only a first step in a series of overtures that must lead to concrete actions and activities that will assure you that we are sincere in our determination to lead as servants, not as masters.”

“Please accept our words as they are offered—with humble and contrite hearts.”

Catholics are among the most resilient of believers and when ‘David’ is remorseful and asks forgiveness, Catholics are quick to forgive. Jesus offered mercy to the repentant woman who washed his feet with her tears. What would it be like if next Holy Thursday, our Holy Father invited victims of abuse to gather in Rome for the washing of their feet by the Holy Father surrounded by his brother bishops from every corner of the globe.

But ritual is not enough. Concrete measures must be taken to assure the full measure of justice and the promise of integrity.

And when you think about it, is this not the standard to which each and everyone one in this assembly is bound—father, mother, sister and brother, priest, deacon, religious and parishioner.

Living the Christian life is not a spin of words but a sincere movement of the heart toward all that is noble and true and good. We have no greater model than Jesus and there is no sin that is greater than the mercy of God.