Why So Quiet, Gentle Guest?

Why are you so quiet, covert, anonymous, and shy...gentle, silent guest, Holy Spirit? I know that you live in my soul: you came at baptism and then at confirmation and a zillion times at Eucharist, confession, prayer and invocation. But you seem distant, absent, resting...like Jesus on Holy Saturday! Meanwhile, my heart and mind are a cacophony of dissonance: desire, fear, resentment, more desire, jealousy, confusion, discouragement, and more desire! Is it that I myself must become quiet, serene and still to hear your gentle, consoling voice? But how can I do that without your help? I cannot! I simply cannot! I need you to arouse yourself...to calm and reassure me, to strengthen and encourage me! If you have been waiting for the invitation, here it is: Come, Holy Spirit!

Hate the Sin; Love the Sinner

Gay marriage is not about equality and not about the treatment of homosexuals. It is about the meaning, nature, and purpose of sex acts. The hegemonic liberal consensus is that such acts are entirely unrelated to procreation but intended for the romantic/physical union and satisfaction of two individuals, involving exclusivity and ideally longevity. By such logic, gay marriage is a right and a healthy development. Sodomy is the moral equivalent of the unitive marital act. This is what our culture, in a million implicit and explicit ways, will instruct our young. To dissent is homophobic and hateful. All previous popes and preachers, martyrs and saints, even Jesus and Joseph and Mary were unhappily homophobic and prejudiced. On the other hand, the view of all traditional religions and societies, proclaimed explicitly and passionately by the Catholic Church, is that sex acts are intrinsically oriented to new life, that the complementary union of man and woman fructifies and culminates in children. By this logic, sex acts that are intentionally sterile (contraception, masturbation, oral, anal and manual intercourse) are intrinsically futile, pathological, toxic and sinful. This applies to everyone, equally, hetero and homo, male and female, married and single. We see that there is a straight line from contraception to gay marriage. When our culture went contraceptive in the 1960s, gay marriage (along with abortion, serial monogomy, co-habitation and the list goes on) became inevitable. Acceptance of contraception requires validation of gay sex. The logic is inexorable. Contraception is so widely assumed that it cannot even be discussed. So there is, for our society, an inevitability to legal gay marriage. The Church probably cannot win this Culture War. What the Church can do is strengthen its own counter-culture: family, religious life, the sacraments, and service of the least...the path our new Holy Father is blazing! In the long run, the cult of futile, sterile sex will disintegrate on its own, as surely as happened to the Nazis and the Commies. Our culture of fecundity, life and family will flourish, regardless of broader cultural and legal developments. Demographics alone will ensure this. The future belongs to the fertile: folks like observant Catholics, devout Muslims, and Orthodox Jews. Consider the later: they are increasing prodigiously while secular Jews are cohabitating, contracepting, aborting, inter-marrying and divorcing. Liberals don't know how to propagate as they are addicted to sterile sex and technological "reproduction." It is good for us to relax a little about our dismal political, cultural and legal situation... and exult in the richness of our family and Church life!

Why Lucifer Hated Eve: Don't Hate Me Because I Am Beautiful!

Why did Lucifer target his attack at Eve rather than her spouse? Because she had so much influence over Adam that with her seduced, the corruption of Adam would flow smoothly? Yes, certainly! Because she is, in her own gracious way, vulnerable, delicate, and fragile? Yes, definitely! Because she has an underlying capacity for suspicion, anxiety, distrust, jealousy and control? Yes, clearly! Because he found her at a moment when she was separated from her partner and protector, isolated and alone, independent, autonomous, liberated,empowered and "leaning in?" Yes, of course! But above all he attacked her because she was Beautiful. He feared, resented and envied her feminine Beauty. Feminine loveliness is arguably the greatest power in creation. Beauty elicits love, admiration, loyalty, courage and self-surrender. The loveliness of the creature, in its feminine structure of receptivity, vulnerability and fragility...attracts the love of the Father, the passion of the Son, and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Lucifer resented and envied this power. Great as he was, he seems to have been ambitious, competitive, proud, and alone. And so, he despised the humble power of fragile loveliness. Beauty does not compete, dominate or overcome. Beauty invites, welcomes, consoles, comforts, nourishes, heals, inspires, fascinates, captivates, strengthens,edifies, encourages,and sanctifies. It draws us, as St.Augustine knew, to its source, the One who is Himself Perfect Beauty. Jesus...naked, scourged, crowned with thorns, nailed, mocked, dying, obedient and merciful...is the absolute embodiment of fragile, omnipotent Loveliness.

The Cultural Trumps the Economic; The Spiritual Trumps the Cultural

The recent presidential election was characterized by a crass materialism on both sides: dread of tax increases versus resentment of the "one percent." But we learned from Blessed John Paul II that the cultural trumps the economic, the political, and even the military. He lived to triumph, joyously, over the legacies of Hiler and Stalin. And so, in the present context, tax rates and regulation and the expansion or shrinking of government are far less important than the moral and cultural issues: the heritage we pass on to our children about the value of innocent life, sexuality, gender and family. However, even more primal and significant than the culture war is the spiritual combat in which we are engaged every day. The Church is pretty much losing the culture war on gay marriage and contraception, but that is not what matters most to us who follow Jesus. More important by far are the spiritual issues: do I love my enemies, political and cultural? am I humble and contrite about my own limitations and sins? am I gracious, merciful, and generous to those with whom I disagree? If we get the spiritual realities right, we enter the Kingdom of Heaven, here and now, and God's grace will flow inexoribly, efficaciously, infallibly into our families, communities, and economies.

Assisi or Xavier?

We may soon find out whether our new Holy Father took the name of the saintly Franciscan or the zealous Jesuit, but I like to think he had both in mind: both/and rather than either/or, in good Catholic (i.e. inclusive, universal) fashion. Clearly, our new pontiff emulates the humility of the Poverello, the "little one," as his first gesture was to bow his head and request the prayer of the assembly in St. Peter's Square. He is a man of the poor and a man for the poor: this is an immensely significant development: he will call all of us to service of the very least and those who suffer. But as a Jesiut and evangelist himself, he may be consciously emulating the fervor, zeal, vigor and militance of the companion of St. Ignatius. Let us remember also that the Poverello was himself quintessentially an evangelist. A friend sent me a picture of the Argentinian Cardinal on his knees, being prayed for by Father Raniero Cantalamesa (theologian for Pope John Paul II and charismatic Franciscan) and some Pentecostal ministers. It perfectly exemplified humility in his receptive posture but also, implicitly, an eagerness to surrender to the Pentecostal energies and collaborate, ecumenically, in the evangelical task. If the interiority of holiness is intimacy with the Holy One, the exteriority of sanctity has two faces: that of humility, littleness, meekness and patience; and that of magnanimity, courage, and boldness. They are the two faces of a love that receives everything, that fears nothing, and gives all.

Father (No-Work) Burke

The pastor of the parish of my childhood and youth was Father Burke, a genuine eccentric. As an involved altar boy, I was well aware of the pattern: He would entirely disappear for months; no one seemed to know where he was. There was a rumor of alcoholism. Suddenly he would appear; rush around in a frenzied manner, wearing a strange cape that seemed to come out of Phantom of the Opera; say a few fast words; and then disappear again. Something was not right. Why someone so dysfunctional would remain a pastor for so many years remains, for me, to this day, one of the mysteries of the Church. The amazing reality was that the work of the Church in this large, thriving parish continued smoothly, fruitfully, vigorously...despite the shipwreck of a pastor. Fine associate priests (Fathers Rock, Dante, Shirer, etc.) took care of things; the sisters and brothers educated thousands of us; the sacraments were performed and catechesis was delivered; and Catholic family life flourished. I don't recall hearing a word of criticism about the pastor from family, friends, teachers or priests. Everyone just seemed to know and accept, without mentioning it, that our pastor was different, not quite right, but that that was okay. We respected him nevertheless. He was like an odd uncle that everyone accepts and loves and doesn't make a big fuss about. I didn't really understand this, but I got it. For the rest of my life, I was immunized against scandal: I never expected too much from the priests. I appreciated, of course, the intelligent, charming and holy ones. But I understood that they are weak like the rest of us...and some are afflicted with unusual difficulties. I soon learned that many priests suffer alcoholism. Later I learned about sex abuses and their toleration by the bishops. I heard the criticisms of the Vatican and the popes. None of this fazed me. I expected it. Intuitively I knew that Christ dwells in this Church of sinners and loves us as we are...including and especially our priests. If anything, every "scandal" endears me to the Church: it is truly home and hospital for the weak and sinful. Even the leaders are such. God bless Father Burke for the beautiful lesson he left us. May he rest in peace!

He is Still Our Father

One of the last sentiments voiced by Pope Benedict before his retirement was that he had become Pope, not temporarily, but as a permanent change...forever. I take this to heart. Functionally, a Pope can retire; but spiritually, he is a father and, as the French poet said, "Once you are a father, you can only be a father." Any father (and, of course, mother) understands this. He is fathering us, now, in a different mode: in silence, prayer and reflection; in humility and anonymity; in weakness and trust. He is still my father. He is still our father.

Mange

"Mange" is Italian for "eat." I am imagining an expansive, generous, outgoing Italian woman, serving a rich, delicious meal, and exhorting-commanding-imploring: "Mange!!" What, I ask myself, is the primary, foundational, and essential command of Christ to us, his disciples? I would argue that it is: "Mange!" In English: "Take and eat...Take and drink..." He did not say: "Believe in the real presence" or "Accept the concept of transubstantiation." He said: "Take and eat." This is first and foremost. Eating is active reception. Normally, we are served a meal, we receive, we accept. But it is an active reception in that, ideally, we gratefully receive and then actively, and happily ingest. Recently I was feeding my grandson Michael small pieces of cheese. I was enjoying how heartily and eagerly he was eating them. I realized how much I love to feed people, especially little people and particulary my grandchildren. It occured to me that this might be a glimse of how God yearns to feed us. We are talking about the Eucharist, of course. That He hungers for us to come to Him hungry and thirsty, eager and expectant, grateful and happy. Much of the Church seems to be afflicted with "eucharistic anorexia"...a lack of appetite. But this eagerness of appetite extends well beyond the Sunday banquet and infuses all of life. Every experience comes to us as gift, as nourshment and satisfaction, and we need to eat and drink with relish: every joy, encounter, disappointment, trial and suffering. Everything...is gift! May we eat and drink voraciously, passionately, deeply!

Men Not Appreciating Femininity

The immature male psyche is incapable of appreciating femininity. With the onset of puberty, the male is overwhelmed with an urgent physical urge for the feminine, but the exigencies of his developing body and psyche, cultural forces, and the itinerary leading to his final paternal mission, all together blind him to the mysterious, inner intelligibility and splendor of femininity. Femininity, like its complement virility, is an interior form, an essence, a gestalt, a spiritual intelligibility, a profound integrity and harmony, a radiance that reveals a hidden mystery. Like any form of Truth, Beauty or Goodness, it reveals itself, gently and trustingly, only to one who is wise, reverent, and loving. The main reason immature men are blind to the exquisite inner worth of women is that their developmental task emphasizes qualities that contrast sharply with femininity: he is working towards independence, she embodies interdependence; he is developing toughness, she is tender and sensitive; he is prizing autonomy and initiative, she epitomizes relationship and receptivity; he is impelled to objectify, distinguish, separate and analyze, she intuitively synthesizes, harmonizes and personalizes. These are not stereotypes; they are profound spiritual realities. Example: at a social event, two young women are likely to excuse themselves and go to the rest room together. This is indicative of a personal bond or communion between them. The capacity for relationship is a constitutive moral-emotional-spiritual strength of femininity. If he thinks about it, the adolescent male would consider it a sign of weakness and dependency, a lack of integrity and confidence. He projects upon the girls the values of his own stage of development. The male and female are moving in contrasting psychic directions: towards maternity and paternity. Material causes include the hormonal, organic and morphological endowments of the bi-polar genders; efficient causes include cultural expectations; formal causality is the underlying femininity or masculinity of the specific soul; and final causality is the contrasting goals of maternity and paternity. The woman is destined to be profoundly in union with her children, other women, husband and everyone surrounding her,especially the sick and needy. The man is preparing himself to be the head and founder of a family, a provider and protector of his wife, children and especially the weak and needy. Further in the journey, the two are destined to fall deeper and deeper in love with each other, a love that is mutually and increasingly respectful, appreciative, humble and generous. As the male takes into himself the female, in so many acts of knowledge and love, his masculinity becomes whole, meaningful, fertile and noble. Likewise for the female. Mature masculinity may be defined as the capacity to receive femininity: in knowledge, reverence, and an affection that is at once gentle and strong, generous and tender. This truth is, of course, offensive to cultural correctness and fashion. Feminism, in its harsher forms, can be understood as a feminine internalization of male devaluation of the feminine and a consequent mimicking of male immaturity at its worst: profanity, promiscuity, careerism, and abortion. The indignant demand for women priests, for example, springs from a failure to appreciate femininity in its own right and a pathetic imitation of insecure male power envy. In our culture and time, the "normal" and transitional undervaluation of the female by the developing male has been vastly expanded and now infects all of society. Technology and science, as control, in contrast to knowledge as (feminine) contemplation and reception, have become the dominant modes of knowledge. This mode of operating can be understood as the masculine, cut off from the feminine: manipulative, exploitative, violent, and irreverent. The culture cannot even comprehend the form or essence of femininity because it recognizes no forms in that it reduces reality and truth to the measurable as it marginalizes deeper forms of knowing (art, religion, morality) as subjective, emotional and feminine (in a derogatory sense.) Within our Church, our celibate clergy have, unhappily, not been immune to this sin of misogyny. Nevertheless, the Church remains the last and invincible preserve of radiant femininity: She is infallible and efficacious in her preservation and cherishing of her own identity as Bride of Christ, as Mother of all her children, in union with the saints especially consecrated virgins, and ever receptive of the nuptial (sacramental) acts of love from her infinitely appreciative Spouse.