Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 8 July 2012

The Mystery of God's Apparent Powerlessness

        Faith in God the Father Almighty can be put to the test by
the experience of evil and suffering.  God can sometimes seem to
be absent and incapable of stopping evil.  But in the most mysterious
way God the Father has revealed his almighty power in the voluntary
humiliation and Resurrection of his Son, by which he conquered evil.
Christ crucified is thus "the power of God and the wisdom of God.  For
the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is
stronger than men."  It is in Christ's Resurrection and exaltation that
the Father has shown forth "the immeasurable greatness of his power
in us who believe."

        Only faith can embrace the mysterious ways of God's almighty
power.  This faith glories in its weaknesses in order to draw to itself
Christ's power.  The Virgin Mary is the supreme model of this faith,
for she believed that  "nothing will be impossible with God," and was
able to magnify the Lord:  "For he who is mighty has done great things
for me, and holy is his name."..

        "Nothing is more apt to confirm our faith and hope than holding
it fixed in our minds that nothing is impossible with God.  Once our
reason has grasped the idea of God's almighty power, it will easily and
without any hesitation admit everything that [the Creed] will afterwards
propose for us to believe -- even if they be great and marvelous things,
far above the ordinary laws of nature."

                                                -- Catechism of the Catholic Church
                                                        paragraphs 272-274

You know well, my God,
that in all my miseries
I have never failed to recognize
your great power and mercy.
May it help me
that I have not offended in this.
Give me back the time i have lost
by granting me your grace
both in the present
and in the future.
                -- Saint Teresa of Avila
                        (1515-1582)

Thirteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 1 July 2012

Our First, Most Cherished Liberty

    "We are Catholics.  We are Americans.  We are proud to be both,
grateful for the gift of faith which is ours as Christian disciples,  and grateful
for the gift of liberty which is ours as American citizens.  To be  Catholic and
American should mean not having to choose one over the other.  Our
allegiances are distinct, but they need not be contradictory, and should
instead be complementary.  That is the teaching of our Catholic faith,  which
obliges us to work together with fellow citizen for the common good of  all
who live in this land.  That is the vision of our founding and our  Constitution,
which guarantees citizens of all religious faiths to right to  contribute to our
common life together.

    Freedom is not only for American, but we think of it as something of  our
special inheritance, fought for at a great price, and a heritage to be  guarded
now.  We are stewards of this gift, not only for ourselves but for all nations
and peoples who yearn to be free.  Catholics in America have discharged  this
duty of guarding freedom admirably for many generations....

    ...From well before Cardinal Gibbons, Catholics in America have been
advocates for religious liberty, and the landmark teaching of the Second
Vatican Council on religious liberty was influenced by the American  experience.
It is among the proudest boasts of the Church on these shores.  We have  been
staunch defenders of religious liberty in the past.  We have a solemn  duty to
discharge that duty today."
                        -- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
                            Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty

Almighty God, Father of all nations,
For freedom you have set us free in Christ Jesus
We praise and bless you for the gift of religious liberty,
the foundation of human rights, justice, and the common good.
Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties;
By your grace may we have the courage to defend them,
for ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land.

We ask this through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, our patroness,
in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, 
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
with whom you live and reign, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen.

Twelfth Sunday in Ordinary Time, 24 June 2012

Fortnight for Freedom, II

    "As Catholics, we are obliged to defend the right to religious liberty for ourselves and for others.  We are happily joined in this by our fellow Christians and believers of other faiths.

    A recent letter to President Obama from some sixty religious leaders, including Christians of many denominations and Jews, argued that "it is emphatically not only Catholics who deeply object to the requirements that health plans they purchase must provide coverage of contraceptives that include some that are abortifacients."

    More comprehensively, a theologically rich and politically prudent declaration from Evangelicals and Catholics Together made a powerful case for greater vigilance in defense of religious freedom, precisely as a united witness animated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  Their declaration makes it clear that as Christians of various traditions we object to a "naked public square," stripped of religious arguments and religious believers.  We do not seek a "sacred public square" either, which gives special privileges and benefits to religious citizens.  Rather we seek a civil public square, where all citizens can make their contribution to the common good.  At our best, we might call this an American public square.

    The Lord Jesus came to liberate us from the dominion of sin.  Political liberties are one part of that liberation, and religious liberty is the first of those liberties.  Together with our fellow Christians, joined by our Jewish brethren, and in partnership with Americans of other religious traditions, we affirm that our faith requires us to defend the religious liberty granted us by God, and protected in our Constitution."

                      
                -- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
                    Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty
                Our First, Most Cherished Liberty:  A Statement
                    on Religious Liberty

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time, 17 June 2012

A Fortnight for Freedom

    ...Both our civil year and liturgical year point us on various occasions
to our heritage of freedom.  This year, we [United States Bishops] propose
a special "fortnight for freedom," in which bishops in their own dioceses
might arrange special events to highlight the importance of defending our
first freedom.  Our Catholic institutions also could be encouraged to do the
same, especially in cooperation with other Christians, Jews, people of other
faiths, and indeed, all who which to defend our most cherished freedom.

    We suggest that the fourteen days from June 21 -- the vigil of the
Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More -- to July 4, Independence
Day, be dedicated to this "fortnight for freedom" -- a great hymn of  prayer
for our country.  Our liturgical calendar celebrates a series of great  martyrs
who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power --  St. John
Fisher and St. Thomas More, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, and
the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome.  Culminating on Independence  Day,
this special period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action  would
emphasize both our Christian and American heritage of liberty....

    To all our fellow Catholics, we urge and intensification of your prayers
and fasting for a new birth of freedom in our beloved country.  We invite you
to join us in an urgent prayer for religious liberty.

        Almighty God, Father of all nations,
        For freedom you have set us free in Christ Jesus (Gal 5:1).
        We praise and bless you for the gift of religious liberty,
        the foundation of human rights, justice, and the common good.
        Grant to our leaders the wisdom to protect and promote our liberties;
        By your grace may we have the courage to defend them,
            for ourselves and for all those who live in this blessed land.
        We ask this through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, our patroness,
        and in the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, in the unity of  the
        Holy Spirit, with whom you live and reign, one God, for ever and  ever.  Amen.

                        -- United States Conference of Catholic Bishops,
                            Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty,
                           "Our First, Most Cherished Liberty: A Statement
                           on Religious Liberty."

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, June 10, 2012

"We Will Do Everything That the Lord Has Told Us."

    ... [I]n forming their consciences the faithful must pay careful
attention to the sacred and certain teaching of the Church.  For the
Catholic Church is by the will of Christ the teacher of truth.  It is her
duty to proclaim and teach with authority the truth which is Christ and,
at the same time, to declare and confirm by her authority the principles
of the moral order which spring from human nature itself.  In addition,
Christians should approach those who are outside wisely, "in the holy
Spirit, genuine love, truthful speech" (2 Cor. 6:6-7),  and should strive,
even to the shedding of their blood, to spread the light of life with
confidence and apostolic courage.

    The disciple has a grave obligation to Christ, his Master, to grow
daily in his knowledge of the truth he has received from him, to be
faithful in announcing it and vigorous in defending it without having
recourse to methods which are contrary to the spirit of the Gospel.  At
the same time the love of Christ urges him to treat with love, prudence
and patience those who are in error or ignorance with regard to the
faith.  He must take into account his duties towards Christ, the life-giving
Word whom he must proclaim, the rights of the human person and the
measure of grace which God has given to each man through Christ in
calling him freely to accept and profess the faith.

                            -- Vatican Council II
                                Declaration on Religious Liberty
                                (Dignitatis Humanae) #14

Soul of Christ, sanctify me.
Body of Christ, heal me.
Blood of Christ, drench me.
Water from the side of Christ, wash me.
Passion of Christ, strengthen me.
Good Jesus,  hear me.
In your wounds shelter me.
From turning away keep me.
From the evil one protect me.
At the hour of my death call me.
Into your presence lead me,
to praise you with all your saints
for ever and ever.  Amen.

The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Sunday, June 3, 2012

He Loves Justice and Right

    When the principle of religious freedom is not just proclaimed in words or incorporated in law but is implemented sincerely in practice, only then does the Church enjoy in law and in fact those stable conditions which give her the independence necessary for fulfilling her divine mission.  Ecclesiastical authorities have been insistent in claiming this independence in society.  At the same time the Christian faithful, in common with the rest of men, have the civil right of freedom from interference in leading their lives according to their conscience.  A harmony exists therefore between the freedom of the Church and that religious freedom which must be recognized as the right of men and all communities and must be sanctioned by constitutional law.

    In order to satisfy the divine command: "Make disciples of all nations" (Mt. 28:19), the Catholic Church must spare no effort in striving "that the word of the Lord may speed on and triumph" (2 Th. 
3:1).

    The Church therefore earnestly urges her children first of all that "supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgivings be made for all men ....  This is good and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Tim. 2:1-4).

                        -- Vatican Council II
                            Declaration on Religious Liberty
                            (Dignitatis Humanae) # 13-14

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." 
                         -- Matthew 28: 19-20