The Paradoxical Spirit

By: Rev. Paul Scalia

In his hymn Splendor paternae gloriae, Saint Ambrose exhorts us: bibamus sobriam ebrietatem Spiritus. Literally, let us drink the sober inebriation of the Spirit. That one phrase – sober inebriation – captures the paradoxical character of the Holy Spirit, Whose descent we just celebrated. He brings us both sobriety and also intoxication. For the Spirit to breathe freely and effectively within us, we must accept both aspects of this paradox.

Pentecost manifests this reality. The Apostles’ preaching amazes many. But others say, “They have had too much new wine” (Acts 2:13). Poor Saint Peter has to clear this up. Thus the Pope’s first public address begins inauspiciously, with a defense of their sobriety: “These people are not drunk, as you suppose, for it is only nine o’clock in the morning” (Acts 2:15). And yet, in another sense, the Apostles are intoxicated. They suffer a certain inebriation that prompts them to act without concern for worldly honors, human respect, or even their own lives. They seem unreasonable and out of control in the world’s estimation – as a drunk man would.

We encounter this inebriation in all those filled with the Spirit. They act and speak in a way that seems madness to the world. Thus the poverty of Saint Francis, the joy of Saint Philip Neri, the fidelity of Saint Thomas More – all are inscrutable to the world. We honor those men now. But the people of their time thought them mad. Even our Lord’s family says, “He is out of his mind” (Mk 3:21). If the Spirit that consecrated Him animates us also, then we should not be surprised to receive a similar reaction.

At the same time, however, the Spirit imbues us with a sobriety – a sanity – that the world can neither give nor understand. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom” (1 Cor 1:25). The Breath of God restores us to spiritual sanity by bringing order to disordered passions, docility to rebellious wills and light to darkened intellects. Thus the martyrs, whose carelessness with their lives looked insane, amazed the world with peace and calmness before the executioners. Saint Thomas, whose rejection of wealth and privilege seemed folly, saw more clearly and deeply than any other thinker. Saint Catherine of Siena, whose missions appeared quixotic, attracted followers precisely because of her clarity.

Still today, the Spirit-inebriated Church provides the world with remarkable lucidity of thought. As Benedict XVI observed, she is an “expert in humanity.” The world despairs of any sense or meaning to society, family, marriage, and sexuality. Our culture cannot articulate any coherent principle that would bring structure to society. And yet the Church, imbued by this reckless Spirit, presents the clear truth about man that alone brings order.

A familiar image of the Holy Spirit is the wind. On Pentecost Sunday “there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were” (Acts 2:2). Wind is an apt image, conveying what Saint Francis de Sales calls the “gentle violence” of the Holy Spirit. Wind bursts into a room and upsets everything – throwing papers out of order, slamming doors, overturning things. At the same time, wind drives from a room what is rancid and stale, bringing a freshness and peace. The Holy Spirit – the wind, the breath of God – accomplishes both in our souls. He upends our lives to get our attention, and cleanses us of the foul, fetid air of the world.

An authentic relationship with the Holy Spirit demands of us a willingness to receive both His inebriation and His sobriety. We must be willing to appear as the Apostles did – drunk, absurd. The unwillingness to look ridiculous places a limit on the Spirit’s action. It says, I will follow the Spirit’s lead…provided that I always come across as proper and acceptable. In effect, I will respond to the Holy Spirit on my own terms. At the same time, we must surrender our excitable, mercurial souls to the Spirit’s strong sobriety, which disciplines us from within, bringing order and therefore peace. For a new Pentecost to come, as it always must, let us drink of the sober inebriation of the Spirit.

Holy Naming

By: Deacon Marques Silva

Thinking of names for your future children or grandchildren? How about considering a saint’s name? May is typically a busy month for baptisms – at least in my parish. Many are surprised to discover that the custom of given children a Christian saint’s name may be traced back to the infancy of Christianity. It seems that people of what are now modern day France and Germany were among the first to begin this practice, which quickly spread throughout Europe. The name of Jesus has typically been held in reserve by almost all cultures, with the notable exception of the Spanish.

Additionally, the Spanish-speaking countries also brought the veneration for Mary into family names by using liturgical titles and qualities like Asuncion (Assumption), Concepcion or Concha (Immaculate Conception), Cosuelo (Our Lady of Good Counsel), Dolores (Our Lady of Sorrows) Gracia (Our Lady of Grace), Luz (Our Lady of Light), Paz (Our Lady of Peace), Pura (Virgin Most Pure), Stella (Star of the Sea) and Victoria (Our Lady of Victory).

Other cultures have also chosen to honor Our Lady through translations or variations of the name of Mary including: Maire (Irish), Manon (French), Manette (French), Mara, Maria (Latin, Italian, Hungarian German, Spanish), Marie (French), Maretta, Marette, Marella, Marietta, Marilla, Marilyn, Mariquita (Spanish), Marita (Spanish), Marla (Bavarian), Marya, Maryse (French), Maureen (Irish), Marya (Slavic), Miriam, Moira or Maura (Irish), Muriel (Irish for Star of the Sea), and Marianne (Marian in Italian), a name honoring both Mary and St. Anne. Among the popular Marian nicknames for the above are: Mame, Maie, Mayme, May, Mari, Moll, Mollie, Molly and Polly.

St. Jean Marie Vianney

Just so the guys do not feel left out, and yes, some have taken obvious Marian names, e.g. Saints Jean Marie Vianney and Alphonsus Marie Ligouri, here are a few masculine forms: Gilmary, Gilmore, Melmore, and Myles (all deriving from “servant of Mary,” as do the surnames Gilmartin and Kilmartin), and Marion.

Naming can be controversial within families as not to offend revered relative or even repeat common names. Sometimes names can bring about bad memories due to unfortunate experiences in the past. For the Church, the name of a child is important too. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) teaches us:

In Baptism, the Christian receives his name in the Church. Parents, godparents, and the pastor are to see that he be given a Christian name. The patron saint provides a model of charity and the assurance of his prayer. (CCC 2165)

In this crazy world of ours, knowing that my children have a guaranteed intercessor can only be a plus. And, who better than our Lady to guard and guide us through life.

Oh, my four children, they are named for the saints whose feast days are the same as each child’s birthday… I’m trying to walk the talk.

“It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us…”

By: Fr. Scalia

This verse, introducing the pronouncement of the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:1-30), is one of the most curious in Scripture. And one of the funniest: as if the Holy Spirit awaits or needs the approval of the Apostles. It is also an important verse, as it expresses the character of revelation. Like our Lord, revelation exists as a paradox. It is both human and divine: conveying divine truths in a human manner. And any attempt to “solve” this paradox, to separate or oppose these two dimensions, leads either to fundamentalism or modernism.

Consider Scripture first of all. At every Mass we hear the reading proclaimed as “The Word of the Lord.” And our response assents to that. It is indeed God’s Word – that is, His truth spoken to us. He is the author. But His Word comes to us through human means. God inspired the human authors to write in such a way that His Word takes flesh in their particular styles and genres. Their humanity is not an obstacle but a means of revelation. Just as the Word Made Flesh spoke and acted in a specific time and place, in a particular manner and style, so also the written Word of God carries the particularities of its human authors.

This means that the interpretation of Scripture can be somewhat tricky. In order to interpret accurately the divine truths we must appreciate the human mode in which they arrive – the style, genre, vocabulary, setting, context, etc. But this human enfleshment also brings a great richness. Scripture is not just a flat recording of truths and events. Rather, we get to appreciate and enjoy the various styles of the authors. We have straight historical texts, the beauty of the Song of Songs, the awe-inspiring (and confusing) imagery of Ezekiel and Revelation, Luke’s simplicity, John’s lofty dialogues, Paul’s powerful personality…and so on.

Contrast this with the Muslim understanding of revelation. Allah did not employ Mohammed’s human intellect and will. Mohammed’s style and personality do not show up at all. Instead, he was caught up in ecstasy and dictated word for word what he heard from the angel. He was not an author in any sense but merely a recorder. The human dimension has no place in Islamic revelation.

There is, of course, a Christian fundamentalism. It seeks to defend Scripture as the word of God by insisting on a literal interpretation of everything – leaving little to no room for the human dimension. This does not work, because Scripture was not written to be read that way. Thus fundamentalism requires some serious mental gymnastics. It means insisting on an absurd interpretation of some verses (Call no man father…) and denying the sane interpretation of others (For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink…).

On the other extreme we find those who insist on Scripture’s human dimension to the exclusion of the divine. Although done to varying degrees, this always has the same result: the eventual reduction of the Bible to mere human opinion. Useful, to be sure, but just another volume in the canon of religious literature. This modernist view has found hearing most especially in the mainline protestant denominations, whose decline witness to its danger.

The divine and human dimensions of revelation we find also in the Church’s decrees. When the Church teaches doctrine, she communicates divine truths (the Trinity, the Incarnation, the Eucharist, etc.) in a human manner (Councils, Encyclicals, etc.). Some have a fundamentalist approach to Church teaching – not brooking any development of doctrine or diversity of language. Others see doctrines as, again, expressions of human religious sentiment. They are time bound statements that “evolve” according to (surprise!) what the world thinks.

“It is the decision of the Holy Spirit and of us…” Scripture and dogma reflect the divine/human paradox of our Lord Himself. Evidence again that the Incarnation is more then one dogma among others. It is a paradigmatic truth of our faith. If we hold the paradox of the Incarnation in our minds and hearts, we will also hold other doctrines accurately and peaceably.

Justice for Babies and Turtles!

By: Sr. Clare Hunter

Teaching high school Catholic morality classes, I always feared parent-teacher conferences. The first year, I braced myself for heated debates with parents concerning the issues of marriage, premarital sex, contraception, and abortion. Oddly, those issues never came up. What did keep coming up was the class where I said that humans have higher intelligence than animals, and animals don’t make moral choices. In short, that human life is higher than animal life. That is what they wanted to debate.

Many a parent came prepared to prove I was wrong with amazing stories of the intelligence and love exhibited by their dogs. More than once I was tempted to agree that it was indeed possible that their dog was more intelligent and loving than their teenager. However, what I had discussed with the students was not merely my opinion but fact: humans have a higher intelligence and can do what animals cannot do – the capacity for self-reflection, love, and moral choices. Your dog is not wondering why it exists or if God exists, wondering how much you love it and how it can love you better. As imperfect as we are, and as doggone cute as animals can be, humans are a superior form of life. Of course, one could wonder as our “furry fecal friends” (credit to a friend) have trained us to pick up and walk through our neighborhoods with their “waste” swinging from our wrists.

It is imperative for Christians to be good stewards and care for creation, protecting it through actions and laws. But then I think we should be consistent and do the same for human life. I took some time to look at the  U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. It is a wonderful site, and I learned a great deal about endangered species and ways to protect them. A man from Georgia will spend 6 months in prison for unlawfully acquiring loggerhead sea turtle eggs in violation of the Lacey Act. Imagine 6 months in prison for taking potential turtles. You will also go to jail if you kill the Florida salt marsh harvest mouse, if the mouse is pregnant! Average litter size 10-12 – yikes!  The American Bald Eagle – one conviction, per bird, per egg. Take a look – plants are protected, too!

I was struck when I read that endangered species are protected under the Lacey Act. I recalled another law that was named after the pregnant woman killed by her husband, the “Laci & Connor Law,” or the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. Same name, different spelling.

Under this law, it can be double homicide if you kill a pregnant woman. Or murder if a miscarriage occurs or the baby dies because the mother is attacked. Though varied and with many qualifiers, it is law in some form in 36 states.

I can see why the other 14 states would hesitate to enact the Laci & Connor Law. It is already confusing and controversial in light of abortion laws – sometimes it is murder to kill unborn life, and sometimes, it is a choice. It is understandable that Planned Parenthood, the National Organization for Women and NARAL all fought this law.

Yet, what a blessing the Laci & Connor Law is for our nation, as Ariel Castro, according to prosecutors, will be charged with murder in the beatings that killed five unborn babies from one of the women he held captive. And the latest good news is that Dr. Kermit Gosnell is convicted of three counts of murder. Yes, we are on the right track for justice and protection for humans too!

This is worth a read on the subject:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/getreligion/2013/05/death-penalty-in-cleveland-horrors-wait-who-died/

Mothering Sunday

By: Deacon Marques Silva

How are you honoring your mother for the important May celebration this coming Sunday? You’ve got to do it, and she deserves it. While mothers all over the nation will be receiving breakfast in bed, flowers, cards and a host of other gifts, did you know the Church was celebrating this holiday for centuries? We called it Mothering Sunday, and we gave roses.

Long before Anna Jarvis held her memorial and started her campaign for Mother’s Day on May 12, 1907, and long before President Woodrow Wilson nationalized Mother’s Day in 1914, there was the Catholic Church. In the early Church, there was a deep sense of gratitude to the sponsoring church or Cathedral that birthed the Christian into a life of grace. As a result, an ancient and indulgenced tradition developed of visiting one’s mother church or cathedral where one was baptized on Laetare Sunday.

As a natural outgrowth of this tradition, the children would return home to visit and spend the day with their parents. As part of the celebration, “mother cakes” or simnel cakes were prepared. As you might imagine, roses were used in the churches, because the flower matched the vestments of the day. After Mass, it became tradition to take the flowers home to your mother. Additionally, “[o]ne tradition presents Mothering Sunday as an honor to St. Anne, the Blessed Mother’s mother, during which children would ‘go a’mothering’ and bring flowers, gifts and sweets to their mother.”

I hope that you have planned something, because we all know that if mama ain’t happy, nobody is happy. Besides, this is a great way to combat the culture of death by giving thanks and honoring the one who chose life that you may live.

The Church: Divine and Human

By: Rev. Paul Scalia

To what shall I compare this generation? It is like children who sit in marketplaces and call to one another, ‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance, we sang a dirge but you did not mourn.’ (Mt 11:16-17).

The Church always walks the same path as her divine Founder.  Like Him she encounters those who accuse her of contradictory crimes and vices.  They find her too worldly, and at the same time out of touch with “the real world.”  They insist that she stay out of politics and condemn her for supposed silence on issues. In short, the world demands that the Church be human and then complains that she is not divine.  Thus in a roundabout way the Church’s critics reveal the paradox of the Church: like our Lord, she is both human and divine.

That the Church is human is all too apparent.  Of course, when most people talk about the Church being “human” they are referring to her failures (as if that is all it means to be human).  But the human dimension of the Church continues in heaven, where there will be no failures.  That the Church is human means primarily that she is built out of the living stones of individual human persons.  She exists in the world in a human manner and through human means.  She continues the presence of Christ by human words, actions and relationships.

Unfortunately, since our human nature is fallen and wounded, the Church’s human dimension also appears in weakness. This often scandalizes because we hope to find purity and strength in the Church but instead encounter quite the opposite. And yet, as much as we ought to find holiness in the Church, it is in another sense not surprising that we encounter weakness.  The crowds in Jerusalem encountered human weakness in our Lord. Not, to be sure, moral weakness.  But weakness nonetheless – the weakness of a man betrayed, beaten, scourged, and crucified. The crowds looked and, seeing the man of sorrows, in effect asked, “That? Is that God?” The Church always walks the path of her Founder.  So people look upon the Body of Christ and, finding her laboring under human weakness, they ask, “That? Is that the Church of God?” Indeed she is – appearing in human nature and laboring under human weakness, as did her Lord.  And just as our reaction to the suffering Lord should be one of pity and not outrage, so also we should respond to His Body, the Church suffering from the scandals of her members.

Our outrage at scandals and weakness in the Church comes from the fact that the Church is more than merely human – and we sense that to be true.  She is, as we confess every Sunday, holy.  This dimension of the Church is not as clear to us, just as Jesus’ divinity was veiled by His humanity.  We call the Church “holy” because she bears God’s own life and grace.  She teaches divine truths and administers the Sacraments of salvation.  Her very soul is the Spirit of God.

In a sense, it should not surprise us that the Church suffers (and always has suffered) scandals.  Not only because our Lord promised that it would happen (cf. Lk 17:1) but also because any human institution suffers them.  What should surprise us is that the Church has survived her scandals.  No other human institution could survive the scandals that the Church has seen.  That she can survive them hints at the fact that she is more than merely human.  Her weakness that endures testifies to something more than human at work within her.  She is human, yes, with all the weakness that comes with that.  But at once she is also divine, the Body of Christ.

Comfort with this paradox makes a heart truly Catholic.  It enables one to trust in the Church as Christ’s voice and presence in the world – the very oracle of God, as Newman said.  It likewise enables him to see scandals in the Church for what they are.  He can see the horror of a scandal, and yet not stop trusting the Church.  He knows the Church is at once divine…but also in need of reform.  A person with such faith is not undone by scandals, because he knows the Church consists of weak human members (like himself).  He knows that the Church is a pilgrim, en route to heaven, and always becoming more perfectly what she is.

Next: Revelation

Unveiling the Horrors of Abortion: the Kermit Gosnell Trial

By: Therese Bermpohl

Every so often a veil of lies is lifted, forcing us to look at the truth of a situation we may otherwise have chosen to avoid.  This was the case back in the late 1990’s when Americans were confronted with the gruesome truth about partial birth abortion, watching as Congress debated whether or not it was “needed” to preserve the “health of women.” During those debates, the country recoiled, learning exactly how barbaric partial birth abortion really is. Those debates had such an impact that even today, many who self-identify as “pro-choice” are quick to say that they are not in favor of partial birth abortion.

24 week preemie (photo cred: Dallas Brown)

Again, today, the thin façade of civility is peeled away from the abortion industry so that the American public has to take a good look at the “choice” it has made to tolerate legalized abortion.  The Hermit Gosnell trial has stunned, shocked and horrified all who have had the stomach to follow it.  What went on in the Gosnell facility is the same thing that goes on in every abortion facility, the slaughter of unborn children. No matter how we size it up, the end result of abortion is one dead human being and a vast number of wounded souls, not the least of which is the mother of the child.

I remember reading an article in a prominent newspaper in which the author was bewildered about why the child homicide rate had skyrocketed over the past 30 years.  It was 2003, just thirty years after the Supreme Court of the United States of America legalized the killing of unborn children in the U.S.  I remember thinking, “Can they seriously fail to make the connection between legalized abortion and the vast rise in the child murder rate?”

The Gosnell trial has given us an opportunity to see one of the greatest scourges in the course of history in full force.  The question becomes, will people of good will take heed of the destructive reality of abortion?  There has been much talk of peace lately, and I continue to harken back to the words of the late Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, who said,

“…the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion, because it is a war against the child – a direct killing of the innocent child – murder by the mother herself. And if we accept that a mother can kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?”

Let us not lose this opportunity as a nation to do the right thing, to look at abortion for what it is – the taking of innocent human life – and change barbaric abortion laws to defend the rights of children in the womb. Maybe then, as Blessed Teresa predicted, the world will become a safer place for all.