The Chair of Peter

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Catholic Church, Pope Francis, the Chair of Peter, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Today’s feast in the Roman Catholic Church is a deeply symbolic one. We celebrate not a person but a symbol. It’s the feast of “the Chair of Peter.” It doesn’t mean we are reminded of a piece of furniture, beautiful as it may be, and not really even the name of the one person that it is named for, St. Peter. Rather, the Chair of Peter stands for the individuals – some holy and some less so – who have occupied the position of leader in Christendom (and later Catholicism) throughout the centuries since the designation of Peter by Jesus as the leader of his “flock” (and, by extension, those who lead dioceses around the world).

As I was reading again about the significance of this feast which spans over 2,000 years, I thought about that symbolism and the importance of prepositions in definitions. What I mean is the difference of over and for in this case. The Chair of Peter is a symbol of the authority of the leader of the universal Catholic Church, i.e. Pope Francis at present. He is quite clear in his understanding, it seems, that his authority is for church members around the world rather than over all of us. It is for our benefit that he speaks and for the good of the world as teacher that he proclaims.

As is always the case, his leadership is too progressive for some and too traditional for others. What is clear, however, is his humility and his joyful love for people. So leaving personality and politics aside for a moment, today we – and others who appreciate longevity – can celebrate that the Catholic Church has endured for two millennia because of and sometimes in spite of the person who sits in the Chair of Peter.

Mother Seton

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Catholic Church, education, example, faith, ordinary life, religious community, sanctity, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton (1774-1821) was the first American-born saint canonized in the Roman Catholic Church. We celebrate her today as a woman who, it is often said, “lived an ordinary life in an extraordinary way.” Her life was a bit like a seesaw with serious ups and downs by turns. She was born into a solid, well-to-do family in the high society of New York but her mother died when she was 3 years old. She was married at age 19 to a wealthy businessman and had 5 children, but his business failed and he died of tuberculosis when Elizabeth was 30 years old. Necessity led her to open a school in Baltimore in order to support her children and grace moved her to found a religious community which grew out of the spiritual nature of how she ran her school. She died at age 46. Franciscan Media says the following about the woman who has become an example of faith to generations of Catholics and is revered as “Mother Seton.”

Elizabeth Seton had no extraordinary gifts. She was not a mystic or stigmatic. She did not prophesy or speak in tongues…The thousand or more letters of Mother Seton reveal the development of her spiritual life from ordinary goodness to heroic sanctity. She suffered great trials of sickness, misunderstanding, the death of loved ones (her husband and two young daughters) and the heartache of a wayward son…She wrote to a friend that she would prefer to exchange the world for a “cave or a desert. But God has given me a great deal to do, and I have always and hope always to prefer his will to every wish of my own.” Her brand of sanctity is open to everyone…(www.franciscanmedia.org)

How can we refuse the offer?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Charism

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Catholic Church, charism, common folk, generosity, gift, Jansenism, kindness, life, pastoral, poor, Redemptorists, religious orders, retreats, service, simplicity, St. Alphonsus Ligouri, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, theology

Today we note an interesting juxtaposition of feast days in the Roman Catholic Church. While yesterday we celebrated St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order of priests (the Society of Jesus), today we note the founder of the Redemptorists (The Congregation of the Holy Redeemer), St. Alphonsus Ligouri. Taken together, these two religious orders have influenced the Church for over 5 and 3 centuries respectively in similar if not matching ways. The Jesuits are known, as we saw yesterday, for their leadership in education and the study of Scripture as the basis for theological research and deepening in the spiritual life. Today we hear of Alphonsus, himself a brilliant scholar who received a doctorate in both canon and civil law by acclamation at the age of 16 (!) who gave up the practice of law for apostolic activity. He was ordained a priest and concentrated his pastoral efforts on popular parish missions, hearing confessions, and forming Christian groups. (http://www.franciscanmedia.org)

Alphonsus lived from 1696 to 1787 (in itself an extraordinary achievement in his day!) and spent himself in the fight against the moral rigidity of Jansenism. Fr. Don Miller (Franciscan Media) begins the biographical sketch of this holy man’s life in a telling paragraph, saying: Moral theology, Vatican II said, should be more thoroughly nourished by Scripture, and show the nobility of the Christian vocation of the faithful and their obligation to bring forth fruit in charity for the life of the world. Alphonsus, declared patron of moral theologians by Pius XII in 1950, would rejoice in that statement.

The Redemptorists have always been dedicated to mission, working often in rural villages with the poor, preaching to them – by word and their lives – the imitation of Christ. Pastoral reforms were and are in the pulpit and the confessional, “replacing the pompous oratory of the time with simplicity, and the rigorism of Jansenism with kindness.”

That last statement leads me to a consideration of the word charism (charismata in the plural form of the Latin word) meaning gift. Each religious community is known for some special gift or gifts to the Church and the world. Yesterday we saw that the Jesuits did everything for “the greater glory of God.” How this charism is expressed is many-faceted but can be seen in the world by their efforts toward the imparting of the knowledge and love of God to others, especially in the ministry of education. The Redemptorists, on the other hand, are known for preaching retreats in parishes, speaking to “the common folk,” and for their kindness in hearing confessions of the faithful. I can attest to the efficacy of the Redemptorist charism from my personal experience of my uncle Walter Cavanaugh, CSsR, who served as a missionary to Brazil and started a parish with six congregants in the South of the USA in mid-20th century where there was little Catholic presence. Uncle Walter was best known, however, as were some of his “brothers,” for his kindness in the confessional where he provided solace to people for hours at a time.

That these two great religious communities, among others, to be sure, have endured for hundreds of years, is testament to the gifts of God to the collective but also to each of the members who have been called for a specific mission. Might we reflect today on the influence of God’s gifts in our own lives and consider that we, too, have a certain “charism” – a gift to share with the world?Is yours a personality that draws people to your faith? your joy? your hospitality? Are you noted for your generosity? your service? a certain skill? My mother used to show her love for all our extended family by making our birthday cakes – often unique and always delicious. Now my cousin Mary Jane is noted for spectacular creations for every special event.

What is it that makes your life a gift to the world – for the greater glory of God? (The only unacceptable answer here is “Nothing.”)

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Praise of Sabbath

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Catholic Church, conscious work, Genesis, keep holy the Sabbath day, praise God, Psalm 145, Sabbath, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, worship

This morning I am thinking of the notion of “Sabbath” and how the busyness of our lives has squeezed the practice that originated in the book of Genesis (God resting on “the seventh day” from all the work of creation) into a religious service that may last an hour at most. I speak of Catholic practice, which is what I know best, and am pushing aside any sense of commitment and feeling of the difference that accompanies this most important day of the week for many people, in order to shine a spotlight on how things “used to be.” I would wager that “no unnecessary servile work on Sunday” is a concept unknown to most Catholics under the age of 40 years.

My point is not to return to an understanding of the call to worship as a statute that, if broken, has dire consequences. It is simply a sadness that we seem, as a people, to have lost a sense of wonder and awe about creation and the Creator that – in and of itself – calls us to stop and give praise on a regular basis. Were we to understand the depth of what we have been given as possibility for conscious living, we would likely have little time for anything but praise! The paradox about that, however, would be our ability to do everything we are doing with more ease and success if we were acting consciously all the time. Let us, then, begin this morning with Psalm 145, as does the lectionary. The psalmist reminds us of the duty and privilege of praise so let us also raise our voices in like manner.

O sovereign God, all-powerful, your name I praise above all else. Each day that comes I add another note of song that I shall never cease to sing, for you, Almighty One, are great beyond my telling. Of you there is no limit and no end.

An Enduring Legacy

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Assumption, birth, Catholic Church, courageous choices, exile, God's will, Luke, Magnificat, Mary, Messiah, Pope Paul VI, poverty, say yes, Second Vatican Council

Today the Roman Catholic Church celebrates the feast of the Assumption of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, into heaven. It is one of many feasts observed by Catholics the world over – in both Eastern and Roman rite – and gives pride of place to the woman who said yes to the call of God to bring Christ to the world in the most significant way possible: by birth. In the renewal of the past half century, begun at the Second Vatican Council, we have come to appreciate Mary in perhaps more expansive ways. What I mean is that if we do indeed recognize her as a young woman (probably still a teenager) who lived in a small village in the Middle East, perhaps illiterate and certainly not privileged in any social way, her “yes” to God seems as extraordinary as it always has, but with one additional understanding that generations rarely if ever conceded – or even considered. This seemingly ordinary, humble young woman who cooperated with grace in an uncharacteristic way is the same girl who responded to the recognition by her kinswoman Elizabeth that she was carrying the Messiah with the following words:

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord…From this day all generations shall call me blessed: the Almighty has done great things for me…He has shown the strength of his arm and has scattered the proud in their conceit. He has cast down the mighty from their thrones and has lifted up the lowly…(LK 1:39-56)

Commenting on Marialis Cultus, Pope Paul VI’s apostolic letter on Mary, Elizabeth Johnson writes that the Pope “describes Mary as a strong and intelligent woman, one who has the wits to question back when the angel addressed her, one who experienced poverty and suffering, flight and exile. In the midst of these troubles she consistently gave active and responsible consent to the call of God, made courageous choices, and worked to strengthen the faith of others….In the most quoted passage from this letter, the Pope then declares that far from endorsing the particulars of Mary’s own life as exemplary, the Church proposes her to the faithful as an example to be imitated: not precisely in the type of life she led, much less for the socio-cultural background in which she lived and which today scarcely exists anywhere. Rather, she is held up as an example for the way in which, in her own particular life, she fully and responsibly accepted God’s will (see LK 1:38), because she heard the Word of God and acted on it, and because charity and a spirit of service were the driving force of her actions…(#35)“

Johnson concludes that “what has a permanent, universal, exemplary value is the way she walked the path of her own life before God, which can instruct and inspire people’s own creative responses in this new era. We can be inspired by her because we are all human together. Mary is ‘one of our race,’ ‘a true daughter of Eve,’ indeed (as Pope Paul says) ‘truly our sister, who as a poor and humble woman shared our lot’ (#56).”

In Persona Christi

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Catholic Church, human, John, jubilees, Latin, priest, service, the person of Christ, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

I hope I still remember my Latin studies enough to correctly spell what I learned was the role of the priest in my Church and now understand as applying to those who lead other Christian denominations as well. As a child (before I ever heard the designation) I knew that the priest was very special and that he was the one who stood “as the person of Christ” in our parish. We looked to him – to them, since in those days we had five – to teach by example what Christ taught and to be Christ-like in all things. We expected a lot of our priests but gave them honor, respect and admiration as a matter of course. We did not question their loyalty, their competence or their holiness.

Times have changed and we are more realistic now. We see priests (and doctors and teachers and other professionals) not as super-human images of God but rather just like the rest of us: some more talented than others, some with more charisma and ability to preach, some good business people and all in some way imperfect and fallible. That’s good, I think. It not only makes them more approachable; it also brings Jesus closer when we read Scripture texts like this morning’s gospel from John 17. He is praying to God for the disciples as he prepares to leave the earth, “the ones you gave me,” telling God essentially that he has done his best with them and given them everything he could so that they would carry on his mission. And so they did – but not perfectly, of course.

Last evening I was reading the short summaries of the life and ministry of priests in our diocese who are celebrating “jubilees” – anniversaries of 25, 40, 50 or 60 years of priesthood. This issue of our diocesan newspaper is an annual occurrence which I usually read, but this time I was struck by the breadth of the work that these men have accomplished in their lives – not just their leadership experiences in parishes but all of the “extra-curricular” things they have done and the extra education they have sought to enhance their capacities. More engaging was the final comment from each of them about the most significant thing about being a priest. To a person they did not speak of accomplishment but rather of their joy in the privilege of serving God and relating to people.

In coming to the realization that our Church is just as flawed as other institutions in society and living through scandal that is not only demoralizing but unthinkable for those who were taught to consider priesthood as imaging Christ in ways that none of us could achieve – especially if we were girls – it has been a rocky road of late. I have been blessed to know many exemplary priests in my life, all of whom have their faults and failings but whose purpose is clear and steadfast: they are here to serve God. I was reminded of that and of my responsibility to support and respect them as partners on the journey that we share. The truth is that we are all called to stand in persona Christi and there are no pedestals reserved for any group along the path to God, just an occasional word of thanks for service rendered. And that is a good thing for us all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sabbath

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Catholic Church, heal, keep holy the Sabbath day, Luke, Pharisee, Sabbath, servile work, teachable moment, the law of God, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, unnecessary

When I was a child, one of the laws of the Catholic Church was: “No unnecessary servile work on Sunday.” That meant that the laundry, ironing and cleaning house had to be done on Saturday in order that we might turn our minds to thoughts of God and church attendance on Sunday. We never forgot the adjective unnecessary, however, because it was clear that sometimes emergencies arose and something needful superseded the law. When I entered the convent, silence was the highest law of the night. We didn’t talk much anyway, but at 9:00 PM strict silence began and at 10:00 it became “Grand Silence.” The only cause for breaking the silence after that was a dire need of someone for help – serious illness or accident in the night. Even then, as novices, it took courage to break the silence, so well was “the law” drilled into us and so fervently did we wish to be obedient to God.

This morning’s gospel tells of Jesus having dinner at the house of a leading Pharisee (often a “teachable moment” for the others in attendance). It couldn’t have been a comfortable meal for him because, as Luke says (LK 14:1-6), “the people there were observing him carefully.” It was the Sabbath and the Mosaic Law was clear about Sabbath practice. There was a man there who suffered from “dropsy”  (edema, probably from heart disease) and Jesus, knowing the crowd was just waiting for a chance to catch him breaking the law, gave them an opportunity to accuse him before he did anything. He asked them (in some translations the lawyers among them), “Is it lawful to cure on the Sabbath or not?” When no one spoke up he healed the man and dismissed him. Knowing that the story of his actions would probably reach the whole town by morning, he asked them a further question. “Who among you,” he said, “if your son or ox falls into a cistern, would not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” The gospel says that “they were unable to answer his question.”

There are lots of applications of this gospel. The point is, of course, that the law of God, which in its most basic form is all about love, is the highest law and everything else is subordinate to that. Extreme behavior in either direction of total disregard or rigid following does not work for those who live in “God’s house.” We see in our country today both extremes when it comes to Sabbath practice. The question for me today is about how I remember God – not only one day a week, to be sure. It is good, however, to set aside one day of the week (not necessarily the traditional Sabbath, especially if we work for our livelihood on that day) or to create another way to focus our attention on God and the things of God, to reflect on our relationship and give thanks for the blessings and the challenges of our lives that bring God clearly into focus for us. How do you spend your Sabbath? How do I?

Lily of the Mohawks

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Catholic Church, Christian Algonquin, conversion, Great Spirit, Jesuit, Native Americans, prayer, religious community, sacrifice, st. kateri tekakwitha, storytellers, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

In 2012 Americans – especially Catholics and Native Americans living in upstate New York – celebrated the canonization of two women – one a Franciscan Sister, Marianne Kope, and the other a 17th century Mohawk maiden named Kateri Tekakwitha. Today is the designated feast day in the Church for Kateri.

So many streams of thought run through my mind as I ponder Kateri’s life and destiny. I read that “her mother, a Christian Algonquin, was taken captive by the Iroquois and given as wife to the chief of the Mohawk clan, the boldest and fiercest of the Five Nations.” (This reminds me that I know little about the natives that have inhabited my state since long before my ancestors came to America.) Kateri lost her parents and her younger brother to a smallpox epidemic at age four; she herself was left disfigured and half blind by the disease. (Blessed with health and loving family including long-lived parents, I cannot imagine her desolation as a child.) God, her mother’s spirit and the Jesuit missionaries influenced her life such that she converted to Christianity at age 19 although that meant she would be treated as a slave by her village. (Her courage in conversion was monumental.) Fearing for her life, she stole away in the night and walked 200 miles to a Christian village near Montreal where she would be safe. (Amazing!) There she desired to start a religious community but was dissuaded by a priest and so lived out her life in prayer and sacrifice for the conversion of her nation to peace and to God. (How sad that this opportunity was missed for the Catholic Church! How graced was Kateri to know that God meets us in whatever life circumstances we find ourselves!)

Today I am grateful for storytellers who have kept the record of Kateri’s life alive until now. She is a model, not only for native peoples but for New Yorkers like me and others who have come to appreciate the wonderful spirituality of Native Americans and to regret the injustices done to them when others came to this land. May the Great Spirit open our hearts to love the land and all creatures and to reverence one another as members of one family.

 

 

 

 

This New Day

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candidates, Catholic Church, Ezekiel, jeremiah, The Sophia Center for Spirituality, wake up

Once again this Sunday there are two sets of readings to choose from as candidates for reception into the Catholic Church are called to reflection on conversion of heart. All those participating in the liturgical ritual are asked to join in this reflection as we have come to know that conversion is an on-going process in our lives. Those parish communities which do not have converts hear the prophet Jeremiah delivering God’s message that promises “I will place my law within them and write it on their hearts…” while those that are preparing to welcome new members will hear Ezekiel speaking God’s word that “I will put my spirit in you that you may live.”

These are welcome words for all of us on days when we realize that we need a new infusion of energy in our days. Whether we have just come through a long period of struggle or have just had an unusually “bad day” for some reason, it is comforting to know that God is standing ready to massage our heart and revive our spirit, enabling us to “wake up” to a new day – every day.

 

Blessings

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Catholic Church, Children and Youth, Christianity, Holiday, Religion and Spirituality, Roman Catholic, Sophia, Thanksgiving, The Sophia Center for Spirituality

Happy Thanksgiving!

On this vigil of the holiday I am really grateful that I have finally been able to get past all the bugs and roadblocks to blogging through the wonder of a new computer and the efforts of Mary Pat Hyland, a patient teacher and webmaster. If all goes as planned, what I hope to post most days are short reflections on the Scripture readings of the day from the Roman Catholic lectionary. Be assured that these will not be concerned with doctrine but rather (in keeping with our vision here at The Sophia Center) simple thoughts on how something in the readings touches my heart in a way that may help me grow and, by posting it here, help us to grow together. I welcome your reflections in response!

Blessings to all!

Sister Lois Barton, Program Director at Sophia