Our Emotionalist Pontiff

Pope Francis exhorts us "to make a mess of things." Well he certainly did so last week. He chose to meet the Patriarch in repressive, communist Cuba...a very problematic decision! He is out to befriend this state but it might be a big mistake. Then he cavalierly supports the use of contraceptives to avoid the virus...a misguided remark for sure. Then he condemns as "unchristian" those who favor a wall at the border...a simplistic, ill-considered remark. Then he contradicts established Catholic thought by condemning the killing of innocent and guilty as morally equivalent...just war? police action? self-defense? Clearly what we have here is a man who does not think clearly, analytically, deeply about a question. He responds out of primal emotion. He does not like walls, or rich people, or a hard line towards communism or a rigorist sexual ethic. Ross Douthat, in Sunday's Times, compared Trump and Francis as two populists who are channeling deep, powerful, and primal emotions. That is exactly right! Neither offer a coherent thought or vision. It is all feeling. Francis is on a crusade against the death penalty which is virtually extinct in the Western World (haven't had one in NJ in over 50 years...NOT AN ISSUE!) He preaches against climate change which is a infinitely complex, dense topic requiring tons of scientific study. He has populist appeal because he appeals, like Trump, to regressive infantile feels of frustration and rage...at the institutions, the rules, the perceived inequality and irrationality. I find it best to more or less ignore him. I am comforted by three realities. The Chair of Peter, which we celebrated yesterday, indicates that the Papacy is an objectivity, a thing, a definite substance, independent of the one who sits in it. This Pope cannot destroy or even irrepairably harm the office. Secondly, despite his spontaneous and thoughtless comments, he is not really out to change doctrine or practice. He is venting emotions. For example, in the recent synods on the family he clearly engineered a loosening of practice but when the cardinals pushed back he himself deferred. In that he is a humble son of the Church and not about to impose his peculiar views. Lastly, of course, we trust that the Holy Spirit is with us and with him...in a mysterious, puzzling way. My own fear is that he will fill the episcopate and cardinalate with men in his own image. That will be bad. But I can't worry; I can only trust in the Holy Spirit and pray.

Getting Old

I used to devour books… I hungered for ideas, information, insight, new horizons. It happened when I was about 14 or so; at puberty. Books were my first love...before I appreciated women; when my loyalty to God and Church was mild, assumed, indeliberate and my affection for family the same. I lusted…viscerally, passionately, obsessively… for knowledge, wisdom, intuition. I would never be found without a book…and normally would be reading 3 or 4 or more at any point in time. Well, my love for God and Church, for wife and family, and for women…have all slowly, incrementally, inexorably deepened and intensified over time. And this goes forward…peacefully, hopefully, happily. But I no longer devour books. I have lost the stamina and the hunger and the desire. The love affair is over. I miss it! Perhaps heaven will be an infinity of books and libraries and I will have the energy and longing to consume it all…to contemplate it…to converse about it! I can’t wait!

The Witness of the Non-Communicant

I love the non-communicants: the practicing Catholics who come to mass but do not receive communion. Theirs is a tremendous double witness: first, they love the Eucharist so much that they attend even if they cannot receive; secondly, they publicly announce that they are unworthy of so great a sacrament. The sight of them, at Sunday or weekday mass, is always an inspiration to me: it recalls to me that this is a great and holy thing and that I myself am really not worthy..."Lord, I am not worthy that you come under my house but only say the word and my soul will be healed." It is easy for us habitual communicants to become complacent, indifferent, distracted, and presumptuous. The quiet, humble non-communicant startles us: Do you realize how wonderful this is? Do you know how unworthy you are? You really ought to throw yourself prostrate on the floor, right now, in a gesture of gratitude, awe and humility! Three men come to mind: Charles Peguy is, of course, the patron saint (not canonized) of non-communicants since he went through a powerful conversion but remained in an irregular marriage and so abstained from communion. There is some possibility that he confessed and received before dying in the Battle of the Bulge but his humility and many spiritual communions, I am sure, prepared a place for him in heaven. Secondly, I recall that as a 10-year old altar boy I observed that my uncle came to daily mass at 6:30 AM before his work as a carpenter and did not receive. I was puzzled by this. I knew him to be a fine family man and a hard worker. Later I was deeply touched to understand that due to his irregular marriage, he practiced his faith but did not receive. Happy ending to that one: about a decade or so later with the changes after the Council his wife, my aunt, received an annulment of an earlier marriage and they returned to the sacraments. Lastly, a dear friend is caught in a prolonged annulment process and his marriage is not recognized by the Catholic Church. His, I am sure, is a holy and sanctifying union. He sings in choir, attends even daily mass and other spiritual practices. I know he hungers for the Bread of Life! His frustration and obedience is, for me, most inspiring! May we who receive Holy Communion so easily and casually be instructed and corrected and humbled by our non-communicant brothers and sisters!