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I’ve been thinking about the experience of coming home,
being in a familiar place either on a routine basis or after a time of
separation. We’ve all had the
experience. Any more, I feel it most
often when I enter a Catholic Church, especially a parish church that I don’t
often attend. I’ve felt that way almost
since the time we crossed the Tiber, probably because of the extensive
travelling, both in the US and abroad, that I’ve done since then.
I felt this again the other day at noon Mass at the
Cathedral here. I saw the baptismal font
and candle, the ambo, the presider’s chair, the crucifix, the statues, the
Tabernacle, things you’d see in any parish, and I felt at home, at peace, on
familiar ground. Then it hit me that the
things weren’t the reason I felt as I did, it wasn’t the what, it was the
Who. I realized that the real reason for
my feeling of being where I belonged was that Jesus was there in the Real
Presence in the Tabernacle. I don’t know
why that never occurred to be before because it’s so obviously true.
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The Papal Nuncio to the U.S., Archbishop Vigano, spoke at Notre
Dame last week and said this:
The apostolic nuncio, who serves as the Pope’s diplomatic
representative to the U.S., said this is a “tragedy” for both the believer and
for democratic society.
Archbishop Vigano’s Nov. 4 speech keynoted the University
of Notre Dame’s Institute for Church Life conference. He discussed martyrdom,
persecution, and religious freedom, with a particular focus on the United
States.
He cited Catholics’ duties to be disciples of Christ, not
elements of a political or secular ideology. He lamented the fact that many
Catholics are publicly supporting “a major political party” that has “intrinsic
evils among its basic principles.”
“There is a divisive strategy at work here, an
intentional dividing of the Church; through this strategy, the body of the
Church is weakened, and thus the Church can be more easily persecuted,” the
nuncio said.
Archbishop Vigano observed that some influential Catholic
public officials and university professors are allied with forces opposed to
the Church’s fundamental moral teachings on “critical issues” like abortion,
population control, the redefinition of marriage, embryonic stem cell research
and “problematic adoptions.”
He said it is a “grave and major problem” when
self-professed Catholic faculty at Catholic institutions are the sources of
teachings that conflict with Church teaching on important policy issues rather
than defend it.
I’ve long felt this was a real
possibility, and like many Catholics, I can’t understand why this conduct by
elected officials and university professors has been tolerated by the bishops
in this country. I hope they are waking
up to what’s been happening and may begin to become more aggressive in opposing
it, as we all must.
-3-
I’ve been trying more and more
to simplify and quiet my life. As I get
a bit older, I feel the need ever more urgently to find silence in life. I think we both feel this way and have taken
a few positive steps toward the goal; after the wood flooring project, the
Direct TV boxes were disconnected and will be returned to the satellite
provider. I found this from Abbot
Phillip of the Benedict Abbey of Christ in the Desert on monastic silence:
Here we touch on the theme of silence once again. There is no doubt
that in the Rule of Benedict, silence is one of the most important aspects of a
monk. Learning to be silent is more than just keeping the external silence. On
the other hand, if one cannot keep external silence, then probably the internal
silence is not very profound either. It really is a challenge for the monk to
be still and silent in the face of God and with his brothers.
Two points caught my eye. First, silence must be internal, not just an
external, physical lack of noise and speech.
I find that too much TV greatly disrupts the possibility for internal
silence. The second, even more
important, is that our silence is undertaken in the face of God and also our
brothers. How much easier, and maybe
more holy, would our lives be if we had less to say, especially to those who
might, on occasion, rub us the wrong way.
How many times to we inject a comment in a situation where keeping
silent would have been the wiser way? I
lost count many moons ago.
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Despite my best efforts, I caught a bit of Rush Limbaugh
while toodling around town in the SUV.
This comment concerning the Petraeus, et al, scandal was worth noting:
“It’s obvious, the generals are being led around by their privates.”
Just sayin’
"The key to interior growth is based on the fact that
voluntary acts leave traces. We all know people who are very skillful at a
variety of performances: craftsmen, athletes, musicians, etc. All have in
common the ability to do easily and well what for others would be impossible or,
at least, very difficult. They have mastered those techniques by repeating the
same actions over and over again. The same rule applies in the education of the
spirit: repetition. More than just training the body, this is formation of the
spirit." From The Virtues of Holiness, by Fr Lorda
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We're enjoying beautiful weather
for November here in Colorado. Wonder
how long it will last?
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BTW, Happy Thanksgiving!
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