Building the City of God

At his weekly audience this morning, Pope Benedict XVI continued to teach pilgrims about the teachers of the early Church. This week’s message focused on St. Gregory of Nyssa, a fourth-century bishop who lived in the region of the eastern banks of the Mediterranean Sea.

Pope Benedict’s words revealed to hearers that St. Gregory was a man who taught on the “innate dignity of every man and woman,” and that growth in the Spirit is a daily struggle, never to be taken for granted. Moreover, St. Gregory taught that Jesus Christ provided the perfect model of holiness for all Christians, and that they ought to seek to pray like Him.

On a personal note, I a favorite quote from St. Gregory of Nyssa: “The goal of a virtuous life is to become like God.” Thus, I strive daily to grow in virtue, because I want to spend eternity in Heaven.

God Bless.

Today, the Catholic Church celebrates one of its best examples of the winding path toward holiness; one of its most learned men; one of its most revered teachers; and my patron saint. Few, if any, have had more influence on the doctrine of the Church over its existence of two millennia. None have had a greater impact on this author’s search for sanctity, and his work in the area of Church History.

Because St. Augustine has been devoted to praying for this sinner in search of redemption, it is appropriate to offer a devotion to God through him. I pray that each of you will receive multiple blessings by praying for St. Augustine’s intercession.

Great Augustine, our father and teacher, knowledgeable in the luminous ways of God and also in the tortuous paths of men; we admire the wonders that divine grace wrought in you, making you a passionate witness of truth and goodness, at the service of brothers.

At the beginning of the new millennium marked by the cross of Christ, teach us to read history in the light of Divine Providence, which guides events toward the definitive encounter with the Father. Direct us toward peaceful ends, nourishing in our hearts your own longing for those values on which it is possible to build, with the strength that comes from God, the ‘city’ made to the measure of man.

May the profound doctrine, that with loving and patient study you drew from the ever living sources of Scripture, enlighten all those tempted today by alienating illusions.

Give them the courage to undertake the path toward that ‘interior man’ where the One awaits who alone can give peace to our restless hearts.

Many of our contemporaries seem to have lost the hope of being able to reach–amind the numerous opposing ideologies–the truth, of which their innermost being still keeps a burning nostalgia.

Teach them to never cease in their search, in the certainty that, in the end, their effort will be rewarded by the satisfying encounter with the supreme Truth who is source of all created truth.

Finally, St. Augustine, transmit to us also a spark of that ardent love for the Church, the Catholic Mother of the Saints, which sustained and animated the toils of your long ministry.

Have us, walking together under the guidance of legitimate Pastors, reach the glory of the heavenly Homeland, where, with all the saints, we will be able to join the new canticle of the everalsting alleluia. Amen.

St. Augustine, pray for us!

God Bless.

(This prayer was composed by Pope John Paul II in 2004 upon his reception of the relics of St. Augustine at the Vatican.)

Mother Teresa, foundress of the Missionaries of Charity and one of Pope John Paul II’s numerous beati, was one of the most charitable women who has ever lived. Her work on behalf of the “poorest of the poor” earned her a monumental reputation among people throughout the world, and people of every faith. Despite all of that, she was a human being, who doubtlessly struggled agains sin and despair; and she was a Catholic, who was taught that faith and life are exercises in hope and perseverance.

Apparently, the reporters and editors at NBC Nightly News do not understand Catholic teaching about spiritual aridity. In a story that aired last night on the show, the reporter claimed that Mother Teresa “suffered from profound, persistent spiritual pain,” and that she “doubted the existence of heaven or God.” Yet again, America received an inaccurate picture of the Catholic Faith and its teachings on prayer, spiritual aridity, and the corporal and spiritual works of mercy.

Mother Teresa was no different, except in the duration of her struggle, from so many other faithful Catholics who have dealt with “dark nights of the soul” on their journey toward God (me included). There was a whole book written about the benefits of spiritual aridity…titled Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross. Dark nights of the soul are, in fact, gifts from God to some people because they strengthen souls against temptation.

Holy Mother Church teaches that the faithful can engage in ritualistic activity (either prayer, worship, or works) in order to pull themselves through the dark nights. Those activities provide a sense of comfort and purpose in the midst of questions. People who practice such activities understand that “Christ is everywhere,” even when we don’t feel his presence.

People, including the viewers of NBC Nightly News, must understand that sainthood is not always brought about by a flourishing prayer life. Rather it is found in people who reach “courageous charity” (as my pastor called it); people who build Christ’s kingdom on earth even when they don’t feel like it. Mother Teresa did just that. But the news story linked above only served to tarnish her reputation for heroic charity, as well as her faith that God could work for good in any circumstance.

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us!

God Bless.

At a young age, St. Bernard was appointed abbot of the Cistercian Monastery of Clairvaux, and thus began exercising his enormous influence over Christendom. Even into the modern age, the works of St. Bernard remain a prime example of what it means to strive toward holiness. Because of his reputation, the abbot had been popularly proclaimed a Doctor of the Church since his death in A.D. 1153. Pope Pius VIII made those popular and historical sentiments official in A.D. 1830.

At the center of all of the wonderful stories that recount St. Bernard’s life, and all of his poignant teachings are two things: humility and an intense desire to be united with God in pure Love. The following passage, then, illustrates this point most appropriately. In his treatise, On Loving God, the monk wrote:

“Admit that God deserves to be loved very much, yea, boundlessly, because He loved us first, He infinite and we nothing, love us, miserable sinners, with a love so great and so free. This is why I said at the beginning that the measure of our love to God is to love immeasurably. For since our love is toward God, who is infinite and immeasurable, how can we bound or limit the love we owe Him? Besides, our love is not a gift but a debt. And since it is the Godhead who loves us, Himself boundless, eternal, supreme love, of whose greatness there is no end, yea, and His wisdom is infinite, whose peace passeth all understanding; since it is He who loves us, I say, can we think of repaying Him grudgingly? ‘I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my strength, in whom I trust’ (Psalm 18:1). He is all that I need, all that I long for. My God and my help, I will love Thee for Thy great goodness; not so much as I might, surely, but as much as I can. I cannot love Thee as Thou deservest to be loved, for I cannot love Thee more than my own feebleness permits. I will love Thee more when Thou deemest me worthy to receive greater capacity for loving; yet never so perfectly as Thou hast deserved of me. ‘Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written’ (Psalm 139:16). Yet Thou recordest in that book all who do what they can, even though they cannot do what they ought. Surely I have said enough to show how God should be loved and why. But who has felt, who can know, who express, how much we should love him” (Chapter VI).

The great Doctor’s words were meant to remind readers that we must always strive to love God more perfectly, despite the fact that we can never love Him as much as He deserves (at least not this side of Heaven). Because He created us and sustains our life, God deserves our immeasurable love for our whole life.

In conclusion, let us pray with the Church as She prays on the Feast of St. Bernard:

Heavenly Father,
St. Bernard was filled with zeal for your house and was a radiant light in your Church.
By his prayers, may we be filled with this spirit of zeal and walk always as children of the light.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, One God for ever and ever.
Amen.

God Bless.

Our modern Church is marred by scandal (in the moral sense, not political) and sin. One does not have to look far to find an example of how our culture and our humanity has been torn down. It is quite deplorable and disheartening.

However, we need not live in anguish or despair. Great hope abounds, primarily in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. In that setting, God grants penitents an abundance of grace to overcome enslavement to sin. Confession has the potential to heal broken individuals, and thereby heal a broken Church and culture.

There is one problem, though. Not enough people are availing themselves of the sacrament. It is sad, but there are a few primary reasons. One of the most prevalent of those reasons is that a confessor was rude, judgmental, uncaring, or all three. Thereby, many people have been traumatized by “bad” confessions.

Thus, the words of St. Alphonsus Liguori ought to be proclaimed to all sinners, penitents, and confessors.

“If all preachers and cofessors would discharge their duties as they should, the whole world would be holy! Bad preachers and bad confessors are the ruin of the world; and every preacher and every confessor is bad who is not devoted to his office, who does not study to improve himself in it, who does not fulfill it to the very best of his ability” (Circular Letters, p. 12).

The previous quote proves to readers that, despite his intellectual rigor and busy schedule, St. Alphonsus was a man who preached the mercy and love of God. Few other men would have arranged to pay the debts of some one who persecuted him so fiercely. It is no wonder that he is heralded by the Church as the Patron of Confessors.

On this feast of St. Alphonsus, let us pray that confessors will allow the love, mercy, peace, and joy of God to work through them in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Let us also pray that more Catholics will seek out that love, mercy, peace, and joy by going to Confession.

God Bless.

St. Teresa of Avila, the sixteenth-century mystic and Carmelite reformer, wrote many poignant passages on prayer, all of which still resound through modernity. One passage, however, stands out in this author’s mind.

While writing the exposition on the fourth Mansions of prayer in Interior Castle, her mind, heart, and pen crafted a few sentences that readily and completely define what God wants from His children:

“The soul must just leave itself in the hands of God, and do what He wills it to do, completely disregarding its own advantage and resigning itself as much as it possibly can to the will of God. …the most important and pleasing thing in God’s eyes is our remembering His honour and glory and forgetting ourselves and our own profit and ease and pleasure.”

Nothing could be closer to the centrality of our Christian life. Our primary goal should ALWAYS be to resign ourselves to God’s will in EVERY situation. We must forget about our plans and our desires, specifically if God’s plans and desires are to the contrary.

Let us seek out God’s will for us; for our jobs; our time; our money; our families. Once we have that perspective, we will truly begin to live an abundant life!

God Bless.

Just a few moments ago, I sat in my parish’s chapel and prayerfully read Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila’s great treatise on prayer. Suddenly, my eyes fell upon a passage that elicited a beautiful image. I thus felt compelled to share with whomever may be interested.

“…this Lord of ours is so anxious that we should desire Him and strive after His companionship that He calls us ceaselessly, time after time, to approach Him….”

God desires our companionship! He desires it so much that He gives us a plethora of opportunities to connect with Him. How, then, do we answer His call? How many of those opportunities do we take?

This image can be likened to a young high school sophomore who is in love for the first time in his life. His whole existence revolves around spending unforgettable moments with his new beloved. He constantly desires to be close to her.

Can you picture God like that? It’s true: He is wildly in love with us; He desires to be close to us; He wants to be the reason for those unforgettable moments in our lives.

Then, as our knowledge of God deepens, we become like the young man in love. At that point, we want to spend every passing moment in communion with the Beloved. We want to be so close that it is no longer we who live, but He who lives through us.

I pray that all who read this will begin to recognize the joy of falling head-over-heels-in-love with God.

God Bless.

St. Cyril of Alexandria was born in the last quarter of the fourth century (probably A.D. 376) in a suburb of Alexandria, Egypt. His uncle, Theophilus, was the archbishop of that city and ordained Cyril to the priesthood. And, from A.D. 403, when he participated in the synod that deposed St. John Chrysostom, he remained in the public eye until he passed on to his eternal reward in A.D. 444.

The historical record has shown St. Cyril in both critical and benevolent lights. Some patristics scholars and Church historians remember him as the forceful young priest and theologian who maintained and overt bias against St. John Chrysostom. Some remember him as an archbishop characterized by a “forcefulness that at times became overbearing.” Some remember him as the cleric who closed Novation churches in Alexandria and “drove all the Jews” from that same place.” Most remember him as the primary actor in the drama that emerged between the Catholic Church and Nestorius, the Patriarch of Constantinople, in the 420s and 430s. Many fewer remember him as the pastor who wrote that he loved peace above all things; who desired to have Nestorius reconciled to the Church; and who grew “more mellow and prudent” with age.

Regardless of the image he has garnered over the past fifteen and one-half centuries, there are two things of which readers of St. Cyril’s letters and sermons can be sure. The first is that the Faith–the teachings of the Catholic Church–were of the utmost importance in his personal and professional life. “I am ready to endure with tranquillity all blame, all humiliations, all injuries, provided that the Faith is not endangered.” He continued in the same letter: “when the Faith is attacked, we must not hesitate to sacrifice our life itself….”

The second thing that is abundantly clear is St. Cyril’s devout belief in the Incarnation of the Son of God. Unending devotion to that sacred mystery led to his primary role in the defense of the Church’s teaching about Mary as Theotokos (God-bearer in Greek). It also created within this would-be Doctor of the Church, a special appreciation for the Eucharist.

With brevity and clarity, St. Cyril penned words that still reverberate in the minds and hearts of faithful Christians throughout the centuries. Using a metaphor, he portrayed a profound image: “If into melted wax other wax is poured, the two are certain to get thoroughly mixed, on with the other. In the same way, he who received the Body and Blood of the Lord is so united with Him that he is in Christ and Christ in him.” In thanksgiving for the great gift of Christ’s sacrifice made present at the altar, Cyril wrote: “O tremendous mystery, O ineffable decision of the divine counsel, O humility which the mind cannot comprehend! O goodness that cannot be investigated! The maker offers Himself to the good pleasure of His work. Life Itself gives Itself to mortals to eat and drink.”

Finally, those who wish to understand St. Cyril’s zeal in defense of Christ’s humanity as well as his thanksgiving for the gift of the Eucharist need only read the following passage. Through his words, readers understand perfectly that humanity could not have been redeemed if Christ were anything other than fully human and fully divine at the same time.

“Only if it is one and the same Christ who is consubstantial with the Father and with men can he save us, for the meeting ground between God and man is the flesh of Christ. Only if this is God’s own flesh can man come into contact with Christ’s divinity through his humanity. Because of our kinship with the Word made flesh we are sons of God. The Eucharist consummates our kinship with the word, our communion with the Father, our sharing in the divine nature–there is very real contact between our body and that of the Word.”**

St. Cyril of Alexandria, pray for us.

God Bless.

* The preceeding post was written one year ago, while I maintained a different blog. It is reproduced identically.

** The passage quoted here is borrowed from the “Saint of the Day” article on American Catholic.org. All other quotes and ideas are borrowed from the chapter on St. Cyril of Alexandria in Fr. Christopher Rengers’ book, The 33 Doctors of the Church. The photograph is borrowed from a short bio of St. Cyril at The Crossroads Initiative.

Earlier this week, while I was engaged in The Great Adventure Bible Study, a question was posed to the facilitator. The question, which was quite valid, was one of those that makes you shake and/or scratch your head. So intriguing was it that the classmates spent ten to fifteen minutes discussing the possible answers; and it inspired me to write this reflection.

What was this valid, intriguing, and debatable question? Why did God create a male and female of each animal species (obviously, the Creator knew the necessity of procreation) but only create Adam initially? Given the necessity of procreation, why would God not create man and woman at the same moment in time? It is a fascinating thing to ponder!

As soon as the question was posed, our class was on a quest for Truth. Surely God had something to reveal other than the chronological patterns of His creation. Surely He did not mean for people to believe that one sex is superior to the other because of the order of creation. What, then, does it mean for our salvation that God chose to do it this way?

The first reactions were grand exhibits of the first theological virtue, faith. Said one participant: “He’s God. He can do whatever He wants!” Indeed, He can. However, such an answer, as true and faithful as it is, does not always satisfy the enquiring minds of some (like me!). People who are naturally skeptical need more proof.

After several more minutes of theological banter, and continued reflection on the fact that God does not make mistakes, another participant formed a rational conclusion. She posited that God’s choice to create Eve after Adam was an avenue to show the latter that he was in need of relationship, something intimate he would never be able to find with any or all of the “lesser” creatures. Thus, God used His omnipotence to reveal to Adam, and to subsequent generations, the necessary benefits of human interaction.

At that point, my mind immediately shifted from inter-human relationships to our relationship with the Heavenly Father. It is true that we need other humans. But, how much more true is it that we need a friendship with the Lord? In the end, then, God’s choice to create Eve after Adam was meant to reveal our need for Him, the Creator.

How does this all fit together? Quite nicely! God allowed Adam to look around at all the creatures of the earth and name them. When Adam had completed that copious task, he still had found no creature who was “fit for him.” Only then was Eve created, the helper who would satiate Adam’s needs.

Surely, though, there is another, deeper meaning to this story of creation. After all, the Bible is a book about our salvation, not about human sociology (although there could be many interesting case studies found in the Great Book). Because we know this is true, we can logically conclude that God intends for the story to point toward our relationship with Him.

God has granted us access to all of his creation: dirt and rocks, birds and fish, creatures that crawl and walk, material goods, and other human beings. Yet, there is nothing among the whole of creation that will satiate our deepest desires. Once we begin to recognize and humbly acknowlege to God that we cannot find happiness on our own, He will begin to change us and create for us something better than we could ever have imagined. Just as Adam was put to sleep and awoke to a new phenomenon (woman), we can be lulled out of the world and awakened to the most magnificent phenomenon in the universe, a personal relationship with the Supreme Architecht who makes no mistakes.

It truly is inspiring to watch, recognize, and understand when the Holy Spirit is doing what He does best. The story above is just one account (although it is the first one recognizable to me) of how He is fulfilling Jesus’ promise to lead the Church into all Truth. The story above, and the work of the Holy Spirit within that context, is why I am inspired to remain an active participant in the Mystical Body of Christ, the Catholic Church.

God Bless.

Any legitimate scholar of the Catholic Church’s history must acknowledge that the same institution receives unfavorable treatment from secular, and even religious, historians. There are two possible reasons for this. Those authors and commentators have quite possibly distorted or omitted verifiable facts in order to paint the Spotless Bride of Christ in a not-so-benevolent light. A more likely scenario, however, is that these men and women have fallen victim to errant and incomplete information. In either case, faithful Catholics (and even non-Catholics) never have the opportunity to understand the beautiful, rich history of the first two Christian millennia.

Thomas E. Woods, Jr.’s most recent book, How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization, aims at correcting this grievous error. Indeed, Woods’ text of 225 pages proves to readers that the substantial contribution of the Church to Western culture has “gone relatively unnoticed” for several centuries. Further, he makes a clear and compelling case that the Roman Catholic Church “made an indelible imprint on the very heart of European civilization and was a profoundly significant force for good.”

According to Woods, the construction of Western civilization began in the wake of the sack and fall of Rome. The earliest pages of his body of evidence give a wondefully synthetic account of the Europe that was controlled by the Germanic tribes. Those accounts are followed immediately by an assessment of the important role of the Carolingian Renaissance in the “birth of a civilization…greater than ancient Greece or Rome.”

From that point forward, the author deftly leads the reader through various aspects of modern culture that were created or heavily influenced by the Catholic Church. The exposition begins with the invaluable contributions made by monks: agriculture, hand-copying ancient manuscripts for posterity, and limitless charity in the midst of a selfish culture. The pride a Catholic reader feels just from reading about the monks is supplemented and augmented by Woods’ proof that Catholic pastors and intellectuals were pioneers in the development of Western art, architecture, economics, the modern legal system, international law, and morality.

There is one notable niche within this text. The author offers readers an abundance of information and analysis on the Church’s essential role in the establishment of the modern university system, and the scientific advancements made as a result of that establishment. Woods also does a fantastic job of clearing up any misconception that the Church is marred by a lack of intellectual ferment; that She attempted at some points to repress scientific and philosophical advancement. Writing about the Church and her relationship to science, he claimed: “the Church’s contributions to science go well beyond astronomy. Catholic theological ideas provided the basis for some of the first principles of modern science. And Catholic priests, loyal sons of the Church, have consistently displayed such interest and accomplishment in the sciences, from mathematics to geometry, optics, biology, astronomy, geology, seismology, and a great many other fields.”

Certainly, any inquiring mind (Catholic or otherwise) will appreciate Dr. Woods’ contribution to ecclesiastical, and secular, history. This book does a great service to anyone who reads it by helping repair the “self-imposed historical amnesia of the West” that seeks to discard the Church’s “central role in building Western civilization.”

God Bless.