BIG C CATHOLICS

Fr. René J. Butler, M.S. Provincial Superior, La Salette Missionaries of North America Hartford, Connecticut ( Click here for today’s readings ) About 20 years ago I was asked to speak to a group of candidates in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults, on the topic of “de-creation,” i.e., the fall of Adam and Eve and its negative impact of on creation and history. I began by showing them a very beautiful, truly artistic mug that had been given to me. It reflected the love of the artist, and of the one who gave it to me, just as the world created by God reflected his love. A little bit later, I “accidentally” knocked the mug off the podium and it shattered on the floor. As it began to fall, everyone in the group gasped. I concluded, “That is what creation did when Adam and Eve reached for the forbidden fruit. All creation gasped, crying out: ‘No! No! No!’” Almost 900 years ago, St. Bernard of Clairvaux delivered four homilies on today’s Gospel. Each one is easil

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) How often do you hear the cry “It isn’t fair?” It is, of course, a complaint you hear many times from children and teens. Students complain their teachers aren’t fair with their exams. Some adults and parents complain that giving grades on performance isn’t fair. How often do parents tell us that teachers aren’t fair? And what about university admissions policies, are they fair or unfair? The Hurricane Katrina disaster brought forth a host of concerns about fairness. So, too, in follow-ups from other natural disasters. Capitalism, we are told, isn’t fair. In the name of fairness, socialism and communism were tried and found not to be fair. The Church, we are often told, isn’t fair. The way it treats women isn’t fair, we are told. The way it appoints bishops isn’t fair. The way it treats victims of abuse isn’t fair, nor is the way it deals with priests who have broken the law and g

From the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church: 66. In what sense do we understand man and woman as created "in the image of God"? The human person is created in the image of God in the sense that he or she is capable of knowing and of loving their Creator in freedom. Human beings are the only creatures on earth that God has willed for their own sake and has called to share, through knowledge and love, in his own divine life. All human beings, in as much as they are created in the image of God, have the dignity of a person. A person is not something but someone, capable of self-knowledge and of freely giving himself and entering into communion with God and with other persons. 67. For what purpose did God create man and woman? God has created everything for them; but he has created them to know, serve and love God, to offer all of creation in this world in thanksgiving back to him and to be raised up to life with him in heaven. Only in the mystery of

This Sunday’s Gospel reading is from Matthew's Gospel, chapter 10. Our Lord instructs the twelve apostles, "Fear no one. Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed, nor secret that will not be known. What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna." (Matthew 10:26-28) The one who can destroy both soul and body in Gehenna is Satan the devil, king of demons, and of hell. He is the father of lies and a cruel deceiver of men. When we pray the Lord's Prayer, we ask that God, "... lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." The Catechism of the Catholic Church (§2851) states: “In this petition, evil is not an abstraction, but refers to a person, Satan, the Evil One, the angel who opposes God. The devil ( dia-bolos ) is the one who 'thr

Fr. Charles Irvin Senior Priest Diocese of Lansing ( Click here for today’s readings ) In speaking with you about Pentecost I must speak of what cannot be fully explained. All we can do is reverently gaze into the mystery of God’s final movement toward us, the alienated and distant men and women who, with Adam and Eve, have broken off relations with God. Words cannot capture the enormity God’s merciful love for us; they buckle under the weight of it. So Scripture and the Church employ symbols to try to carry Pentecost’s meaning to us. Sometimes symbols are more effective than words in conveying the truth of stupendous events. Essentially Pentecost is the final movement of God’s journey toward us. The initial movement begins in Genesis with God in the Garden of Eden. Note that it is God who makes the move. It is God who initiates; God who offers; God who loves us first. He chooses us. We do not choose him. He chooses us first because He is the superior. If it were other

Top: Christ descends into Hell to bring His salvation to the righteous. Bottom: Adam & Eve eat of the forbidden fruit; and Paradise is lost. "The sin that was wrought through the tree was undone by the obedience of the tree, obedience to God whereby the Son of man was nailed to the tree, destroying the knowledge of evil, and bringing in and conferring the knowledge of good; and evil is disobedience to God, as obedience to God is good. And therefore the Word says through Isaiah the prophet, foretelling what was to come to pass in the future—for it was because they told the future that they were "prophets"—the Word says through him as follows: I refuse not, and do not gainsay, my back have I delivered to blows and my cheeks to buffets, and I have not turned away my face from the contumely of them that spat. [Is. 50, 6] So by obedience, whereby He obeyed unto death, hanging on the tree, He undid the old disobedience wrought in the tree. And because He is Himsel

Crucifixion of Jesus icon, Moldovita Monastery, Moldavia, Romania. The First Sunday of Lent, March 5, 2011 By Father Bernard Bourgeois Genesis 2:7-9, 3:1-7; Psalm 51; Romans 5:12-19; Matthew 4:1-11 What are your memories of Lent? Are they of Friday fish sticks, Stations of the Cross, or purple vestments? How about the sacrament of reconciliation? Maybe any or all of these make you think of Lent and its call to holiness. And that’s what Lent really is! It is a call to holiness and a deepening of the unity between the disciple and Jesus. Ultimately the goal of any prayer or liturgical season is unity with Christ, as much as possible while here on earth, and in its fullness in eternal life. Lent is a period of retreat. In it, the faithful are called to walk the path of the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. The second reading for this Sunday (see above) reminds the Church of the focus of Lent. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, says the following:

Editor's note: Each Tuesday we will feature posts discussing Saint John Paul the Great's Theology of the Body; his reflection on our nature and life as persons made in the image and likeness of God, conjugal love, the meaning of celibacy, and the eternal beatitude to which every human being is called. ____________________________ When Adam named all the animals in the garden he realized he was alone. In other words, he realizes that he is the only "person" in the visible world. He experiences what Saint John Paul II in his Theology of the Body refers to as "original solitude." This original solitude has two senses. The first sense of original solitude has to do with Adam's relationship with God. In "the beginning," Adam quickly began to understand that he had a unique relationship with the creator. He alone could talk with God. He alone could have a personal relationship with God. No other creature in the garden could do this. It nat

Editor's note: Each Tuesday we will feature posts discussing Saint John Paul the Great's Theology of the Body; his reflection on our nature and life as persons made in the image and likeness of God, conjugal love, the meaning of celibacy, and the eternal beatitude to which every human being is called. ____________________________ In his Theology of the Body, Saint John Paul II discusses the concept of "Original Nakedness". The Garden of Eden was Paradise. All creation was ordered to its proper end. Although they were naked, Adam and Eve were not ashamed. Their lack of shame resulted from the fact they did not view each other as sexual objects to be used for their own gratification. Instead, each saw the other with all the peace of the interior gaze. But what exactly does this mean, for them and us? When a man and a woman fall in love with each other "looks" might initially draw them together. Over time, as the relationship grows and deepens, this in

In Saint John Paul II's Theology of the Body, he discusses the idea of "original innocence." He bases this teaching on Genesis 2:25, "The man and his wife were both naked, yet they felt no shame." Without original innocence it would have been impossible for Adam and Eve to recognize the nuptial meaning of their bodies. The nuptial meaning of the body is being made in the image and likeness of God and loving others as God loves us. Our very bodies testify to this reality. The interior state of our first parents before sin was markedly different from our own. The fact that Adam and Eve were naked yet felt no shame is a clear indication that they existed in a state of original innocence. It would never have occurred to Adam to use Eve as an object for sexual gratification. Eve would never have used Adam as an object for her sexual gratification. Their relationship did not entail exploitation or objectification. They acted out of selfless love. Original inno

Adam and Eve were created as gifts to one another. Their very bodies made this truth known. It was through their masculinity and femininity that they could express total self-giving. This is called “the nuptial meaning of the body.” The nuptial meaning of the body is central to Pope Saint John Paul’s Theology of the Body. He references it numerous times throughout his catechesis. To love is the essential activity of the human person. We were created to love others and to receive love from others. Because our bodies make visible what is invisible in the world, it is through our bodies that we are called to be selfless and self-donative. This is evident most obviously  in the conjugal union. Moreover, we are called to love and to serve others in numerous ways using our bodies. We cannot serve others unless we have a physical self to serve with. Man can only discover himself through a sincere gift of himself. This is at the heart of Christ’s teaching. It is also the heart of the Theolog