Just Listen to Pope Francis

I was at Comic Con last weekend. No, not a pass-holding attendee of the event, but a people-watcher. It's fascinating to watch thousands upon thousands of people milling about downtown San Diego, dressed in various costumes, some very weird and others very authentic (which, in turn, made them very, very, very weird.)

As I walked down the sidewalk, I passed many men holding signs - big black signs with white lettering - all heralding the end of the world, the condemnation of sinners, and the Good News of Jesus. I hesitate to call these men Christian; while they did, apparently, believe that Jesus is the Savior of the World, they happened to be obnoxious These people were yelling into their portable mic-and-speaker systems, berating everyone, making sweeping judgmental statements, and generally working against a spirit of Christian kindness and gentleness. If there were a book written on "how to approach non-believers regarding conversion," these fellows would be breaking every rule.

Worse than their obnoxious strategy, however, was the nonsense that they were yelling. My favorite/least favorite quote of the day (depending on whether I choose to laugh or cry at this memory) was this: "YES, IT IS TRUE THAT YOUR BODY IS DYING. BUT YOUR SOUL - THE PERSON LIVING INSIDE OF YOUR BODY - WILL LIVE FOREVER!!!" The wrongness of such a statement boggled my mind. I confess that I had visions of wresting the microphones from these individuals and telling them to stop spouting nonsense, please, for the love of all that is holy and true.

As obnoxious, erroneous, and potentially harmful as these men might have been, however, I consoled myself with the fact that they weren't claiming to be Catholic. These men, doing and saying things that were questionable, at best, were not doing so in the name of the Catholic Church.

But that exception, that moment of "oh, well, it's just some crazy non-denominational Christians," is like looking down a tunnel and claiming to see the world. My experience that day at Comic Con is a particular instance of where the name of Catholicism was not being besmirched by Catholics. There are plenty of examples of where those within the Church - those claiming to be Catholic and assuming authority that they do not possess - do a very fine job of turning people away from it, from Jesus, and inventing needless obstacles to grace.

Some might justify their obnoxious, cruel, harsh, and judgmental language because "Jesus berated people, too. He even got angry and flipped tables. He cursed a tree once, too."

But let me just stop that train before it leaves the station and ask a question: wasn't Jesus the only person to flip tables in the Gospels?

... yeah?

WELL, HE WAS GOD.

Well, then, if you are God Incarnate, you can curse trees, berate people for their sins, and flip the freaking tables, because YOU ARE GOD. Oh, you're not God? Then put down the cyber rock and back away from the "publish" button on your blog, twitter, facebook, etc.

[Another note on the righteously angry Jesus episode involving table-flipping: it happened in the Temple. This did not occur in a Roman market or another place under the reign of Caesar. It was in the Temple, the place where God's chosen people gathered to pray. So if you're going to flip tables just like Jesus, might it not have to be the ones you find holding donuts on Sundays at your parish?]

So, then, if you're not God, you don't get to flip tables or condemn people. You don't even get to judge people.

That doesn't mean you are a moral relativist or that you don't believe an action is morally wrong. It doesn't mean that when you hear about what Planned Parenthood does - performing abortions in specific ways, so as to preserve various organs for whatever research facility happens to want them - it doesn't make you vomit and/or cry.

It means that you love those people. It means that you respect those people because they have just as much human dignity as you do. God doesn't love you more than He loves them. Yeah, read that sentence again. It's important.

I have come to believe that most people are sincerely good people. People want good things for themselves, probably primarily, but they also want good things for others. They recognize that there are just and unjust ways to treat people, they endeavor to act rightly. I don't believe the world is overrun by malicious, vengeful people. I do believe that the world is overrun by sinners. I believe that there is no human person living upon this earth who stands as an exception to that. There is blood on every human being's hands, and it's the infinitely most Precious Blood in existence.

I can believe all of these things and still firmly believe that abortion is always wrong. It always involves killing a human being. There is no contradiction, no tension, between the ways of truth and the ways of love. Pope Francis has declared the upcoming liturgical year to be a year of mercy. He is putting the spotlight back on human actions and the necessity of them being primarily & essentially merciful. He is becoming famous for his treatment of others, for his words and actions that emulate Christ's mercy. In doing so, he is following a tradition as old as the Church herself.

To appease those who might prefer to take a Doctor of the Church as an authority on these things, here's what St. Thomas Aquinas has to say: "Now is the time for mercy, whereas the time to come will be the time for justice only. Thus the present time is ours, but the future will be God's alone." 

I pray that the love and peace of Christ be with you all.

Pope Francis on Complementary of Man & Woman

This is my favorite subject to think about, discuss, and develop, so it won't surprise you that I am super excited that our Pope spoke (albeit briefly) about it during his General Audience today. Since I am a TACer and, therefore, a firm believer in the utilization of primary texts, here are his words, without my opinions or interpretations thrown in. Take a look? 

Dear Brothers and Sisters, good morning!

Today’s catechesis is dedicated to a central aspect of the subject of the family: that of the great gift that God made to humanity with the creation of man and woman and with the Sacrament of Marriage. This catechesis and the next are concerned with the difference and complementarity between man and woman, who are at the summit of the divine creation; the two following ones will be on Marriage.

We begin with a brief comment on the first account of Creation in the Book of Genesis. Here we read that God, after having created the universe and all living beings, created his masterpiece, namely, the human being, which he made in his own image: “in the image of God He created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis1:27).

As we all know, sexual difference is present in so many forms of life, in the long scale of the living. However, only in man and in woman does it bear in itself the image and likeness of God: the biblical text repeats it a good three times in two verses (26-27): Man and woman are image and likeness of God! This tells us that not only man in himself is the image of God, not only woman in herself is the image of God, but also man and woman, as a couple, are the image of God. The difference between man and woman is not for opposition, or for subordination, but for communion and creation, always in the image and likeness of God.

Experience teaches it: to know himself well and to grow harmoniously, the human being is in need of reciprocity between man and woman. When this does not happen, the consequences are seen. We are made to listen to and to help one another. We can say that without the reciprocal enrichment in this relation – in thought and in action, in affections and in work, also in the faith – the two cannot understand in depth what it means to be a man and a woman.

Modern and contemporary culture has opened new areas, new freedoms and new depths for the enrichment of the understanding of this difference. However, it has also introduced many doubts and much skepticism. For instance, I wonder, for example, if the so-called gender theory is not also an expression of a frustration and of a resignation, which aims to cancel the sexual difference because it no longer knows how to address it. Yes, we risk taking a step backward. The removal of the difference, in fact, is the problem, not the solution. To resolve their problems of relation, man and woman must instead talk more to one another, listen more to one another, know one another more, love one another more. They must relate to one another with respect and cooperate with friendship. With these human bases, sustained by the grace of God, it is possible to plan the matrimonial and family union for the whole of life. The matrimonial and family bond is something serious, and it is for everyone, not only for believers. I would like to exhort the intellectuals not to abandon this topic, as if it had become secondary for the commitment in favor of a freer and more just society.

God has entrusted the earth to the alliance of man and of woman: its failure makes the world arid of affections and darkens the sky of hope. The signs are already worrying, and we see them. I would like to indicate, among many, two points that I believe must be attended with greater urgency.

The first. It is without doubt that we must do much more in favor of woman if we want to give back more strength to the reciprocity between men and women. In fact, it is necessary that women not only be more listened to, but that her voice has real weight, a recognized authoritativeness in the society and in the Church. The way itself with which Jesus considered women –we read it in the Gospel, it is so! -- in a context less favorable than ours, because in those times women were in fact in second place ... and Jesus considered her in a way which gives a powerful light, which enlightens a path that leads far, of which we have only followed a small piece. We have not yet understood in depth what things the feminine genius can give us, which woman can give to society and also to us. Perhaps to see things with other eyes that complements the thoughts of men. It is a path to follow with more creativity and more audacity.

A second reflection concerns the topic of man and woman created in the image of God. I wonder if the crisis of collective trust in God, which does us so much harm, and makes us become sick with resignation, incredulity and cynicism, is not also connected to the crisis of the alliance between man and woman. In fact the biblical account, with the great symbolic fresco on the earthly paradise and original sin, tells us in fact that the communion with God is reflected in the communion of the human couple and the loss of trust in the celestial Father generates division and conflict between man and woman.

From here comes the great responsibility of the Church, of all believers, and first of all of believing families, to rediscover the beauty of the creative design that inscribes the image of God also in the alliance between man and woman. The earth is filled with harmony and trust when the alliance between man and woman is lived well. And if man and woman seek it together between themselves and with God, without a doubt they will find it. Jesus encourages us explicitly to give witness to this beauty, which is the image of God. Thank you!

"Holier Than Thou"

This article brought this subject to my attention this morning. The subject, however, does not have a limited audience. It's a lesson that has to be learned throughout the world. It's a lesson that has to be learned by every single person.

The election of Pope Francis brought about many, many reactions. Some were pretty extreme. The extreme ones involved kicking and screaming. At one extreme, people were screaming about His Holiness being "too holy." At the other extreme, people were screaming about His Holiness being "not holy enough."

Whoa.

In reply to the first, one has to give them a little bit of slack. The media's portrayal of the pope is never very kind. The image presented is a "holier than thou" image. There are pictures of the pope praying and quotes from the pope, which, out of context, sound judgmental and harsh.

But this Pope is not a "holier than thou" man.

Exhibit A: In the first minutes of his papacy, before extending his blessing over the world, he asked for our blessing, bowing his head to receive it.

Exhibit B: This morning, after praying before an icon of our Blessed Mother, he told the confessors at the church to "be merciful, the souls of the faithful need your mercy."

He hasn't been pope for 24 hours and he has shown to us the importance of humility and mercy.

But how do we respond to those who accuse Pope Francis of not being holy enough?

Dare we point to the same examples?

Holiness is not praying 15 decades of the rosary a day. It is not adhering to only the 1962 missal. It is not about how long you can kneel in front of the Blessed Sacrament. It is not how well you can (carefully and haltingly) explain a little bit about the mystery of the Trinity.

Holiness is about intention. 

Now, before all of my more traditional readers wig out and declare me a relativist heretic, let me explain.

I do not mean that you can do whatever you want as long as it is done with the right intentions. What I do mean to do is echo Christ, who says, "Not every one who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.' (Matthew 7: 21-23)

Let's reflect for a moment on what doing God's will looks like. Christ says blatantly that it's not about doing stuff. Expelling demons? Doesn't do it. Mighty works? Nope. What did Jesus do? Jesus is Love Incarnate.

He loved with humility.

He scolded the Scribes and Pharisees who militantly followed the letter of the law. He rescued the woman who was going to be stoned to death for adultery. He ate with tax collectors. He did all things with humility and love.

And no matter how many times I have heard people accuse Catholics of being "holier than thou," I have never once heard anyone say that of Jesus.

No matter the level of your devotion, you will probably be "more pious" than someone else in the world. But you should never assume that you are more or less holy than any other person.

How do we convey that? By being ever-humble and ever-merciful. Nothing says "non-judgmental" like showing a little mercy. That's what Jesus did. Remember: we can judge the morality of an ACTION. But we can never, EVER judge the morality of the PERSON doing the action. Ever.

Whatever you do, do it with a humble heart. Love everyone. Everyone. No more hate talk. No more condescension. Go ahead with your devotions. Pray. Fast. Give. But do not, under any circumstances, judge another person.

HABEMUS PAPAM!!!!!

His name was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio.

His name is Pope Francis.

He is the first Jesuit pope.

He is the first pope from the Americas. (Buenos Aires, Argentina, to be precise.)

He is incredibly humble.

If you don't believe me, here is what he said:

"Good evening.

As you know, the duty of the conclave was to appoint a bishop of Rome, and it seems to me that my brother cardinals have chosen who is from far away. Here I am.

I would like to thank you for your embrace, also to the Roman Catholic Church and the bishops, thank you very much. And first and foremost, I would like to pray for our bishop emeritus, Benedict XVI

Let us pray together for him so that he is blessed by the Lord...

Let us begin this journey together... this journey for the Roman Catholic Church. It is a journey of friendship, of love, of trust, and faith. Let us pray always for one another. Let us pray for the whole world. Let us have a big brotherhood.

I wish that this journey for the Church, which we will start today... will bear fruits for the evangelizing of this beautiful city.

I would like to offer you my blessing. But I would like to ask a favor first. I would like to pray to the Lord so that the prayer of the people blesses also the new pontiff. Let us pray in silence your prayer for me."

Deo Gratias!!!!! LET US HAVE A BIG BROTHERHOOD!!!!!!