Works of Mercy

Much is being said about the pastoral actions of the Archbishops of New York and Kansas City in their public announcements relating to the actions of two pro-abortion politicians who are self-described Catholics.
In the modern post Vatican II era we hear a lot about our responsibility to practice the Works of Mercy. Most often the Works emphasized are the seven Corporal Works:

1. Feed the hungry.
2. Give drink to the thirsty.
3. Cloth the naked.
4. Welcome the Stranger.
5. Visit the imprisoned.
   
6. Visit the sick.
7. Bury the dead.

Indeed the many ministries which are common at almost every Catholic Church often concern themselves with fulfilling the requirements of meeting the Corporal Works of Mercy.

All too often the other Works of Mercy, the Spiritual Works of Mercy are overlooked. They are:

1. Admonish the sinner.
2. Instruct the ignorant.
3. Consul the doubtful.
4. Console the sorrowful.
5. Bear wrongs patiently.
6. Forgive all injuries.
7. Pray for the living and the deceased.

It seems to me that it is a lot harder to be faithful to the Spiritual Works of Mercy than to the Corporal Works of Mercy. Even many secularist (especially of liberal leanings) agree that the requirements of the Corporal Works should be done. Who would speak against feeding the hungry, or clothing the naked? Yet many otherwise faithful Catholics do not feel bishops should admonish sinners.
Oh they're all for general comments on the evil of sin, but start naming names and they talk about how the bishop is overstepping. Now don't misunderstand, naming names is not something to be done lightly. A private sin is just that, private. If confessed, it is between the sinner and their confessor. Even if the sinner does not confess the sin and is unrepentant in most cases informing other third parties of the sin is no more than gossip, and is sinful in itself.
Public sin is another story. A public sinner flaunts their sin. They bring scandal to themselves, and if unadmonished to the Church. They lead others into sin by their example and in some cases even encourage others to sin. When their actions also contest a dogma or doctrine of the Church they flirt with heresy, also a not very popular term in the modern secular world.
One should remember that the purpose of admonishment as well as instruction is correction of the individual with the purpose of the salvation of their soul. So the Spiritual Works of Mercy, like the Corporal Works are to be performed in a spirit of charity, not of pride. Liekwise they are not relegated only to the actions of the Ordinary, but the duty of all Catholics.

Mathematics Platoism and Natural Law

One of the most interesting and vexing questions in (and about) mathematics is the so called discovery question. Is mathematics discovered or invented? The U.S. patent office, in the face of the common wisdom of antiquity, and I would say common sense, has declared that mathematics is invented, and therefore patentable. So is created the situation where one must pay a corporation thousands of dollars to use an algorithm which is the result of the flow of mathematical relationships.
Science News has an article which quotes a paper from last June's issue of the Newsletter of the European Mathematics Society which speaks against the discovery theory of mathematics, called the Plato theory of mathematics.
Platonist note that mathematical statements are either true or false independently of the personal beliefs of the mathematician. In base ten 1+1 will always equal 2. That makes mathematics independent of human belief and existence.
In his article in EMS Davies states:

Platonists believe that our understanding of mathematics involves a type of perception of the Platonic realm, and that our brains therefore have the capacity to reach beyond the confines of the physical world as currently understood, albeit after a long period of intense concentration. If one does not believe this then the existence of the Platonic realm has literally no significance. This type of claim has more in common with mystical religions than with modern science.

In that Davies makes the mistake of many secularist who ignore the theory of Natural Law and many physicists who while realizing that the universe is written in the language of mathematics fail to see the hand of the divine within that writing.
I remained unconvinced that calculus, which circumscribes the behavior of fluids in a piston or electron containment in an accelerator is a happy accident of human invention as opposed to a deep extension of divine will revealed to human knowledge by the grace of God.

On the Road Again

Now that very day two of them were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
He asked them, "What are you discussing as you walk along?"
They stopped, looking downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know of the things that have taken place there in these days?"
And he replied to them, "What sort of things?"
They said to him, "The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over to a sentence of death and crucified him. But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel; and besides all this, it is now the third day since this took place. Some women from our group, however, have astounded us: they were at the tomb early in the morning and did not find his body; they came back and reported that they had indeed seen a vision of angels who announced that he was alive. Then some of those with us went to the tomb and found things just as the women had described, but him they did not see."
And he said to them, "Oh, how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke! Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?"
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.
As they approached the village to which they were going, he gave the impression that he was going on farther.
But they urged him, "Stay with us, for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over." So he went in to stay with them.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other, "Were not our hearts burning while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?"
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem where they found gathered together the eleven and those with them who were saying, "The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!"
Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.

If the Last Supper was the first Mass, and it surely was, then the second Mass took place in the village of Emmaus, on that first Easter Sunday. Amazingly the Apostles were not present, but instead two ordinary disciples and perhaps their families. As in Mass today, in all the forms of the many rites, first the scriptures were opened-- then Christ was made visible in the breaking of the bread, in the Eucharist. And for those present Christ who was with them all along, as He is with us was made truly present in the act of the Mass.
The location of Emmaus which is typically translated as seven miles from Jerusalem is described by Luke as sixty stades. A stade is a unit of distance equal to about 607 feet. Some manuscripts give other distances, up to eighteen miles outside Jerusalem. The location of Emmaus has been lost to history. The village was likely no more than a collection of huts and tents beside the road. But the most important event which ever happened in this little town has been preserved for two thousand years, by the Evangelist. The message of Emmaus is not apologetic, that is it is not aimed at defending Christian belief, rather it is catechetical.

Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them what referred to him in all the scriptures.

So how much of what is contained in the Gospels which explain the references to Jesus from the Psalms, the prophets, and even Genesis was first heard from the mouth of God himself on that road? We might never know, but the Gospel tells us that at least two heard it.
This passage should also touch catechists to their heart, because just has when we feed the poor, clothed the naked or visit the sick, when we catechize we are doing what Jesus did.

Pots & Kettles

I picked up or rather was given a copy of CATECHISTS, a magazine for, well, catechists. Generally it is fairly good, but.. (you knew that was coming) .. this issue contained an article which particularly irked me. Enough so that I sent a letter to the editor. It concerned a feature proporting to have advice from "Master Catechists."
My letter follows:

I am writing about an answer given by Kate Ristow's in answer to the question "Can a catechist disagree with Church teaching." While I certainly agree with Ms. Ristow's position that a catechist must teach in accordance with the Church's position on subjects, the example given by her in the article is an example of her doing exactly what she says a catechist must not do, impose her own beliefs in preference to the teaching of the Church.
Her example? To quote:

" Let's say, for example, that one of the topics your textbooks addresses is the Ten Commandments. As you teach the Fifth Commandment- You shall not kill -and the text rightfully emphasizes the sacredness of life, you simply can not tell the kids that you personally the death penalty is an acceptable option for punishing murderers. You must teach that it is our duty to protect life in all circumstances and that only God has the right to decide when someone's life should end."

A very nice sentiment, except it is not what the Church reaches. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2266) says:

"2266 Preserving the common good of society requires rendering the aggressor unable to inflict harm. For this reason the traditional teaching of the Church has acknowledged as well-founded the right and duty of legitimate public authority to punish malefactors by means of penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime, not excluding, in cases of extreme gravity, the death penalty. For analogous reasons those holding authority have the right to repel by armed force aggressors against the community in their charge."

While many individual Catholic leaders have, on their own authority, spoken out against the death penalty, the teaching of the Church itself is that use of the death penalty can be legitimate, depending on the circumstances, and Ms. Ristow's statement that it is not, is a case of her disagreeing with Church teaching, and presenting her view as the Churches. While elementary students are likely not capable of understanding the full scope of the Church's teaching on when it is legitimate to impose the death penalty, the use of force under the Just War doctrine and when it is permissible to kill in self defense and at other times these are subjects that high school students should be learning and the lesson needs to come out of the CCC and other Church documents and not from people's opinions.

And, of course the subject is even more complicated than that. A philosopher I know (really, she is a real Doctor of Philosophy, and teaches said subject,) can give a very precise and logical argument on why imposition of the death penalty is never morally defensible, based on the principle that execution for revenge is never moral, and that execution of a captive who no longer has the ability to harm society is also not morally right. These are very compelling arguments, perhaps enough to say that in the modern world, at least in the United States, capital punishment does not meet the requirements of CCC 2266, of execution being necessary to "rendering the aggressor unable to inflict harm." But this does not mean that execution is thus wrong in all cases in all places. Indeed this is the stand of the Church, that there are some circumstances where legitimate authority does have the right. and the duty, to impose the death penalty. And this is what a catechist should teach.

New sins?

The Main Stream Media (heretofore known as MSM) typically doesn't get it. Getting information on Catholic teachings or Church positions from the MSM is perilous at best. So it should be no surprise that this article from Reuters has it wrong.
Is pollution really a sin? While some of us my chaff at the way some liberals have embraced environmentalism (to the extent for perverting the Stations of the Cross into something that is not Christ centered or Catholic) the fact is that pollution is a sin and has always been a sin. As Christians we believe that God has given us stewardship over the Earth. Stewardship means oversight and is related to pastorship. We have jurisdiction over the Earth and it is our duty to protect the lessor species. We are allowed to exploit them for legitimate purposes but poisoning and destruction of the Earth is not the same as the governance of resources that we are allowed as stewards. Remember a steward does not own what he manages, he merely manages for another. The Earth is God's and we are just tasked with its care.
Likewise in the realm of bioethics the sins are no more new than murder has ever been. It was no more right in ancient times to create a human life by conventional means to use for purposes of medical experimentation than it is now to create a life using scientific means for experimentation. To start with all life is created by God, man sometimes acts as God's agent in the act, but God is the creator, and the life, if it is human life contains a soul made in the image and likeness of God and possessing of inherent dignity based on that fact.
Even the more bizzare of the bioethic questions, such as blended human-animal DNA simply leads back to the traditional sins of offenses against the dignity of the soul and the immorality of the treatment of the human as a commodity.
Certainly it is the duty of the Church to continue to remind the faithful of this and clarify the new acts that are old sins, but idea that there could be new sins attempts to undermine the constancy of Church teaching and the Churches role as the Earthly representative of the unchanging God.

Friday Frills

Another Lenten Friday, which means another day without meat. Just a few more and then its ok to dig into that Friday night steak, right?
Well maybe not. Present disciplines on the rules for fasting and abstinence are rooted in Pope Paul VI's Paenitemini, and the rules imposed by your local episcopal conference. In the United States, during Lent all Roman Catholics 14 years and older must abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and on all Fridays in Lent. On Ash Wednesday and Good Friday all Roman Catholics who are 18 to 59 must Fast. Fasting requires that only one full meal be eaten along with two smaller meals (collations) which do not equal one full meal. There are a number of other rules, such as abstinence is not required on a solemnity (The Feast of St. Joseph and the Annunciation often occur during Easter, and sometimes are on Friday,) and the local bishops often, in the United States, at least give dispensations on St. Patrick's Day (March 17) if falls on a Friday. Members of the Eastern Catholic Churches are obliged to follow the discipline of their own particular church, which are often still much more strict than now followed by the Western Church.
Paenitemini requires that Fridays outside of Lent are penitential days. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops do not require Catholics abstain on these days, but by canon law individuals are suppose to do some form of penance on these days. That few seem to is unfortunate.
Obviously the responsibility of the catechist in this case is obvious. Many Catholics believe that the penitential aspect of Fridays were abolished when the mandatory abstinences were. As can be seen this was not the case. It is important that teens understand this.
So what to do? Abstaining from meat on all Fridays is probably the easiest way to meet this penitential requirement, but perhaps not the best. Most other forms of penance require more thought and effort. Organize an alternative to abstinence might actually be more engaging to your teens. Have them commit to taking an extra half hour to pray on Fridays. Scriptural meditation or saying the rosary also apply. Substitute Fasting for Abstinence on Fridays and collect the money they save for food for alms to go to the poor box or to a food bank or other charity. These are all penitential acts which meet the requirement.
Above all remind them that the penitential nature of Fridays and their adherence to Church practices in this matter are part of living a Catholic life. Its part of their heritage, as well as part of their obligations.

Celebrations in the absence of a priest.

The ideal case throughout the world is for each group, each parish to have each Sunday at least one Mass that the faithful can attend. Unfortunately this is not always possible. In some areas of the world there are simply not enough priests available to serve all of the faithful. At other times a parish which has a faithful priest is suddenly without one due to illness or other unforeseen circumstance. Many times this can be dealt with by contacting a substitute to come in and say Mass. Sometimes this is not possible.
The preferred action in this case is for the faithful to visit surrounding parishes to attend the Masses there. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the bishop conferences realize this is not alway possible. Surrounding parishes may be too far away. Masses there may have already taken place, or it may not be possible to inform the faithful in a timely manner, so that they could arrange to attend elsewhere. In that case Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest can be authorized.
It is up to each bishop to decide when it is appropriate for this liturgical practice to be done. Most diocesan bishops issue a directive, based upon the Congregation for Divine Worship's Directory for Sunday Celebrations in the Absence of a Priest. This document lays out the guidelines for this practice.
As might be supposed, in the absence of a priest, the deacon presides as a member of the clergy, befitting his office. He

acts in accord with his ministry in regard to the greetings, the prayers, the gospel reading and homily, the giving of communion, and the dismissal and blessing. He wears the vestments proper to his ministry, that is, the alb with stole, and, as circumstances suggest, the dalmatic. He uses the presidential chair.

If a deacon is not present a lay minister does not preside, but acts as a leader among equals.

The lay leader wears vesture that is suitable for his or her function or the vesture prescribed by the bishop.34 He or she does not use the presidential chair, but another chair prepared outside the sanctuary.35 Since the altar is the table of sacrifice and of the paschal banquet, its only use in this celebration is for the rite of communion, when the consecrated bread is placed on it before communion is given.

The lay leader is typically an Extraordinary Minister of Communion who has received special training to lead a Celebration in the Absence of a Priest. They must be specifically appoint by the pastor, and in some diocese officially designated by the bishop for this ministry.