Two Jewels

I received "two jewels" today, the Solemnity of St. Paul the Apostle, a feast we celebrate together in the Pauline Family. The first gem is the celebration of the 100th anniversary of priestly ordination of our Founder, Blessed James Alberione. For those who would like to follow the celebration which we had this morning in the crypt of the Sanctuary of Regina Apostolorum here in Rome, you could visit the renewed website of Alberione.org
The second jewel and motive for joy and thanksgiving is the publication of Pope Benedict’s promised letter to the Catholic community in China. Here’s how he introduced this letter: "I wish, therefore, to convey to all of you the expression of my fraternal closeness. With intense joy I acknowledge your faithfulness to Christ the Lord and to the Church, a faithfulness that you have manifested ‘‘sometimes at the price of grave sufferings'',1 since ‘‘it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake'' (Phil 1:29). Nevertheless, some important aspects of the ecclesial life of your country give cause for concern. Without claiming to deal with every detail of the complex matters well known to you, I wish through this letter to offer some guidelines concerning the life of the Church and the task of evangelization in China, in order to help you discover what the Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, ‘‘the key, the centre and the purpose of the whole of human history'' wants from you."

I personally had the chance to visit China for the first time in May last year. Since then, I haven't stopped praying for the much desired opening of the Chinese nation to the freedom of religious expression.

Let us continue praying then that this intrepid move of the Holy Father be taken positively by those who rule the nation and that they would finally understand that total development includes the growth of the spirit and soul.

If you want to read the entire letter, you can go here.

St. Peter and St. Paul

Today is the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul, a holiday here in the City of Rome, rendering not so much a “festive” mood to the City but simply a “silent, Sunday-quality” atmosphere.

In his sermon during Vespers at St. Paul’s Basilica yesterday afternoon Pope Benedict XVI gave a brief reflection on the importance of this day in the City of Rome. He affirmed, “the bond which associates Peter and Paul in the one mission has assumed a very specific significance from the very first centuries. Just like the mythic brothers Romulus and Remus, so too Peter and Paul were considered the founders of the Church of Rome. In this regard, St. Leo the Great has this to say as he addressed the City: “These are your holy fathers, your true pastors who, to make you worthy of the reign of heaven, have built better than those who worked hard to lay the first foundations of your walls” (Sermons 82,7). Even if they were humanly different one from the other and despite the tension that existed in their relationship, Peter and Paul were considered the pioneers of a new city, the actualization of a new way of being brothers, made possible by the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Hence, we could say that today, the Church of Rome celebrates the day of her birth since it was these two Apostles who laid the foundation. Moreover, Rome now takes stock with more consciousness how great is its mission. Writes St. John Chrysostom, “ Not so bright is the heaven, when the sun sends forth his rays, as is the city of Rome, sending out these two lights (Peter and Paul) into all parts of the world" (Commentary on the Letter to the Romans 32).

In the same celebration yesterday, Pope Benedict proclaimed the celebration of the Year of St. Paul beginning from June 2008 to June 2009. For the significance of this event, you can click here.

Year of St. Paul

We are all excitedly waiting for Pope Benedict’s proclamation of the Year of St. Paul on June 28, the eve of the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, during an ecumenical celebration at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, the church housing the apostle's tomb. This is good news not only to us Paulines but to the whole Christian world as well.
When Pope Benedict XVI visited Turkey last November, I couldn’t help reflecting on how history has transformed this first mission land of Paul, the Apostle of the Gentiles. Come to think of it, it’s a Muslim country now. Thanks to the creative and courageous spirit of our present Pope, there is possibility that St. Paul could be “re-discovered” in the very land where he worked hard to evangelize.
Father Abrahamowicz, prior of the Benedictine abbey in Rome, has this reflection regarding the initiative of the Pope: “It is a new effort, not in the sense of a repetition, as if to say, 'Come on, let's give it another try,' but rather it is an effort with a new style, in which he seems to be recalling a particular aspect proper to the work of St. Paul. With great success that athlete of God traveled more than 5,000 kilometers (3,100 miles) to evangelize Asia Minor, but this Pope has not forgotten that those Churches, new at that time, are in present day Turkey. Who would have seen them on TV if Benedict XVI had not gone there personally?"
He added: "Salt, Christianity, and even ecumenism have the characteristic of being in the minority. Apparently the Holy Father is casting a tiny grain of sand into the world, but behind this small gesture is a great confidence in the Almighty."

St. John the Baptist, patron of Music or Sound Therapy

Tomorrow’s liturgy is quite special in that the usual Sunday liturgy is “giving way” to the Solemnity of a saint namely, St. John the Baptist. Very rare indeed that the Lord’s Day is substituted by a saint. But this one is a very special saint! In fact, he comes “first” in time before Jesus – or at least 6 months before, by human reckoning. Fr. Cantalamessa, the Franciscan preacher of the Pontifical household, explains why we have this date. He says, “Why June 24? In announcing the birth of Christ to Mary, the angel tells her that her cousin Elizabeth is in her sixth month. So, John the Baptist had to be born six months before Jesus and in this way the chronology is respected. The reason why it is June 24 instead of June 25 is because of the ancient way of calculating, which was according to calends, ides and nones. Naturally, these dates have a liturgical and symbolic value rather than a historic one. We do not know the exact day and year of Jesus' birth and so we do not know exactly when John was born either.” For more on this homily you can go here:

The Birth of John the Baptist has always been a special feastday to my family. Four of us eight siblings were born in a place called San Juan so we all “grew up” with this Saint in one way or the other. My younger sister, mother of 5 boys, also decided to name one of them John Carlo since he was born on June 24. So the celebration continues...
Now here is one “curious thing” about the liturgy of St. John the Baptist which the same homily of Fr. Cantalamessa points out and which I tried to research on. The Franciscan friar wrote: “Few know that the seven musical notes -- do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, ti -- have something to do with John the Baptist. They are derived from the first seven syllables of the first strophe of a liturgical hymn composed in his honor.”
This Latin hymn begins with this word: “Ut queant laxis resonare fibris...” The literal translation goes: "In order that the slaves might resonate (resound) the miracles (wonders) of your creations with loosened (expanded) vocal chords, wash the guilt from (our) polluted lips, Saint John."

For other translations of the same line you could check here.
The insight I am left with after looking at these connections is the significance of John the Baptist from the time of his conception up to his ministry and up to our present time. The announcement of his birth rendered his Father Zechariah “purified” – mute, wordless until the “Word of the Lord” shall be fulfilled (cf Lk 1:18-23). The ministry of John the Baptist is to be the “voice” – the one who cried out in the desert, ‘prepare the way of the Lord.’ He was the voice but not the “Word!” (cf Jn 1:22-23)

I suppose John’s challenge to us is the same: how could we be so “purified by God” so as to be channels of his communication, bearers of his Word? The enlarged translation of the Gregorian chant given above is enlightening, even if it harbors on the’new age language’ - “The Divine Mind needs an unconfined and freely moving relationship with us that will resonate our speech, or the very fiber of our being, to produce a miracle of communication, which will solve, dissolve, and release the restrictions of our speech.”

Women and the Lord's Prayer

Where are the "women" in the Lord's prayer?
Here's one possible answer: "Jesus, as one of us, clothed in our flesh and blood, was taught to pray by his mother." So Jesus must have learned to pray the Lord's Prayer also from Mary.
This important role of women as teachers of prayer was continued in the Church tradition. If you want to read more on this, you can click here. This site actually reports how "women, in the Early Church, were the Catechists for women, beginning their teaching of them with the Lord's Prayer. Later, the Church only allowed women to write on the Lord's Prayer, permitting Teresa of Avila her treatise on it to our 'Eternal Majesty'.
So much is concentrated in the writings of women on the Lord's Prayer because it includes us, sisters and mothers, as Christ says, with brothers, in the words 'Our Father'. We are there in the Gospel, there in the Lord's Prayer, there in the Magnificat, there in the Beatitudes. "

And if you are interested to learn the Lord's Prayer in different languages, you may go here.

Interiority

A very simple thought for today comes from the deepening of Mt 6:1-6, 6-18 on prayer, almsgiving and fasting. Our Lord’s injunction is simple: to keep these acts of religion out of the public eye - "when you pray, lock yourself in your room; when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing; when you fast, do not look dismal like the hypocrites."
What is this all about? For me it concerns the call to interiority. Religious acts are meant to express the growth of our relationship with our Father “who is in secret and sees in secret.” Even if these acts entail “public expressions” – like almsgiving - the motive or intention behind every act should come from the heart.
There is a beautiful text from the Book of Micah which synthesizes for me this beautiful injunction from our Lord. "You have been told, what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: do justice, love tenderly and walk humbly with your God."

God delights in you!

Today is Fr. Charlie Wolf’s “first celebration” of his Jubilee of Priesthood in heaven! I’d like to believe he’s having a grand time, banqueting with the Most Holy Trinity and all the saints. And more, allowing God to “delight in him” in eternity.
I want to honor him today by sharing a homily which he delivered to a group of retreatants years ago. Here he reveals “his God.” This homily could also give you an idea why Charlie’s directees (like me) felt “at home” with him – because of his deep relationship with the God you’ll come to meet here.

GOD DELIGHTS IN YOU! A homily by Fr. Charles Wolf, sj

I once asked a Jewish friend of mine, “What is your God like?” He was surprised at my question, and said, “Let me think that over.” Three days later we were together, he said, “Remember what you asked me about my God? Let me tell you then; my God is one who delights in me and in my desire to live the Torah.” The Torah is the essence of Jewish law.

How beautiful is his God. His God delights in him; and how genuine is his religion! Now, how about your God? Does he delight in you? Is he delighting in you at this moment? Delight means that God sees value in you; it means that you are worthy; that you are not junk. You have quality and value in you that makes you precious in his eyes. Perhaps you think that you have to be more perfect, to be better than you are at present before God will delight in you. Do you give God a chance to delight in you?

The value that God sees in you is yours now. You do not have to deserve it, you should not earn it. If you think you have to wait, to work harder to get his delight, you’re going to wait and work forever. Many people who take God seriously have a demanding God, a God who keeps piling work on them: things that we must do, duties that we should fulfill; laws that we must keep. Just remember that these demands are mostly coming from you, not from Jesus nor the Father of Jesus. A demanding God: work, work, work. Do, sister, do. Win brother, win. Run, father, run, run, run.

Many of us seem unable to sit quietly and give God a chance to delight. Our principle and foundation seems to be, if I’m not doing, my God is not delighting. Let me change just a little the words of our Jewish friend: “My God is one who delights in me, and in my desire to live the Gospel.” Notice, God delights in my desire, not so much in my success, not in my efforts, but he delights just in my desire.

You might spend some time during the remaining days of the retreat in giving God permission to delight in you. Go to your room and shut the door, says Jesus. And let your Father, the Father of Jesus, look on you, enjoy you, delight in you. Allow God to love you as he wishes: sometimes in light, sometimes in shadow, sometimes in peace, sometimes in turmoil; but all of you, always, unconditionally. You know, God not only loves you, that is his blessing, his vocation, that is his job, you might say. But he even likes you, he likes to be with you. Give him a chance.

Are you surprised that God delights in you? After all, what else might we expect from a God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who is stricken with a foolish love for us!

I am grateful to my Jewish friend. I am grateful for opening my eyes to the sheer radiant goodness, and kindness and beauty of our Yahweh.

St. Paul's Missionary Spirituality

The last part of today’s reading from Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians, (cf 2 Cor 6:1-10) is an inspiring paradox of Christian life: “We are treated as deceivers and yet are truthful; as unrecognized and yet acknowledged; as dying and behold we live; as chastised and yet not put to death; as sorrowful yet always rejoicing; as poor yet enriching many; as having nothing and yet possessing all things.”
These words are not abstract images painted by the Apostle but an exact description of his missionary experience. In trying to deepen this insight, I came across Mark Grima’s Thesis “A Pauline Missionary Spirituality." The author, a Paulist Missionary, expounds on St. Paul’s relevance for today, especially in the struggle to navigate between the interior tensions of the faith and the external tensions in the praxis of Christian living.
Let me just quote some lines from this precious work: “Paul’s awareness of the “already but not yet” was enough to keep him busy trying to make sense, creatively, out of this inherent tension in the Christian faith. He did not dispose of it by ignoring the hope to come, or conversely by devaluing the present reality, but was ready to embrace this tension, and live creatively with it. Moving into his ministry, we realize that this tension is transposed into the daily living of the faithful, and his letters are full of examples how Paul is ready to sail through these rough waters of human realities, acknowledging the fact that life situations can be complex, yet through hope and communal effort Christians can make some right steps toward what he hoped to be “the new creation.” Most striking is how Paul took fully into account the reality both of living in a hostile world and of living between two worlds. Not least of note were Paul’s repeated attempts to hold together different opinions and factions, conscious that the only real solution laid in a mutual faith. This process of making sense out of the inner and the pastoral tensions was done with an unfaltering spirit of compassion and understanding.”
If you want to read more of Grima's study, please click here.

dying to the law, living by faith

When I reflect on what makes us unhappy in our interpersonal relationships, I almost always come up with one issue – the problem of judging and of being judged. A person becomes rigid, self-imprisoned because of the past experiences of being judged and this in turn, consciously or unconsciously, creates a judgmental mentality that turns off everyone who gets near her or him. Another person, on the other hand, becomes free, creative because s/he feels that s/he has been left to express herself/himself in all honesty without any fear of judgement by another.
The sinful woman in today’s gospel who approached Jesus with such tender acts of love is one example of this liberated person (Lk 7:36-8:3). And only because she believed that Jesus the Prophet was able to read her heart and see all the love that was in there. On the contrary, Simon, the Pharisee, a teacher of the Law, doubted if Jesus was a real prophet. He stuck to his judgment of the woman and even used this to “test” Jesus. His rigid interpretation of the law made him incapable to see things differently and to liberate the love that is within him, even if he knew theoretically that the heart of the law is love.
A very beautiful analysis of this Gospel story is given in my favorite website Crossings. In the “diagnosis” the cause of our “lack of love” is presented this way: Initial Diagnosis (External Problem): According to the law, We Judge Rightly; Advanced Diagnosis (Internal Problem) : According to the law, We Act Lovelessly; Final Diagnosis (Eternal Problem) : According to the law, We Are Guilty. And this makes us all unhappy people without any "way-out!"
But fortunately, the Gospel continues and we realize that the "cure" for our case is revealed in the words of Jesus to the woman: “Your sins are forgiven. (…) Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."
It is in living by faith and not by the law that we are saved. The Initial Prognosis (Eternal Solution) is: Living by Faith, We Are Forgiven; Advanced Prognosis (Internal Solution): Living by Faith, We Love; Final Prognosis (External Solution): Living by Faith, We Hold on to Jesus. For the details of this biblical interpretation, you can click here.
Indeed as Jesus demonstrated to Simon, the law does not have the last word in God's reign. It is not our judgments of ourselves and of others that will save us. It is our faith in Jesus, it is in holding on to Him, that we will be able to liberate all the love that we have inside us - Love manifest in giving second, third, infinite chances, both to ourselves and to others, as Jesus himself has done in our regard.
This Sunday, let us ask for the grace to be able to say with St. Paul "For through the law I died to the law so that I might live to God. ... And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:19-20, cf. Second Reading).
By the way, today is also Father’s Day. Please join me in blessing God for all fathers especially for those who know how to bring out the best – God’s very own image – in their children.

Immaculate Heart of Mary

What does the Immaculate Heart of Mary communicate to me?
Only one word – the gift of interiority – the way to growth.
Today’s gospel from Luke (2:41-52) portrays how Mary herself found it so difficult to understand the precious treasure that is Jesus her Son and God’s Son. She had to grow in listening, in understanding, in loving this Mystery presented to her.
St. Luke narrates an example in the finding of Jesus’ in the temple - When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.
To “keep in one’s heart” means to “ponder, contemplate” even to “struggle to understand.” May Mary intercede for us so that we could have a heart like hers – open to the mysteries of the Lord in our lives.

Sacred Heart of Jesus

Today is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus which celebrates the most tender love and mercy of our Lord. The readings at mass today make us meditate on how our Lord pours out this love to all in a truly gratuitous way. The First Reading from the Book of the prophet Ezekiel (34:11-16), presenting the image of God as shepherd, demonstrates how he seeks out and embraces all his sheep but most especially the ones who need particular care. “Thus says the Lord GOD: I myself will look after and tend my sheep. As a shepherd tends his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so will I tend my sheep. (…) I myself will pasture my sheep; I myself will give them rest, says the Lord God. The lost I will seek out, the strayed I will bring back, the injured I will bind up, the sick I will heal, shepherding them rightly.”
This same image is taken up by our Lord Jesus in the gospel today from Luke 15:3-7, when he speaks of the man who leaves his ninety-nine sheep in the desert to go after the lost one until he finds it. The parable is actually an allusion to the mission of Jesus to seek out the sinners and bring them back to the arms of the Father. The Sacred Heart of Jesus is, in fact, a reminder of the suffering, death and resurrection of our Lord for the sake of us all.
And I’d like to make this present, and “translate this today” by contemplating on a picture which a Filipina friend in Rome sent me lately (see above). This is the class picture of her 2 kids, Dean and Ken (see if you could pick out the Filipino kids in the picture). I enjoy contemplating the variety of personalities here, as well as the peaceful and loving countenance of the two teachers. And I thank the Lord for the blessing: through these loving women and men around us, through the children who receive their care and love, the Sacred Heart of Jesus is “alive and well!”

Christ plays in ten thousand places

As I meditate on the Second Reading at Mass today (2 Cor 3,4-11) and go deep into the imagery of the last lines, “All of us, gazing with unveiled face on the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory…” I was reminded of a line from Gerald Manley Hopkins “Christ plays in ten thousand places.” Indeed, in the mystery of the incarnation, the whole creation, and in particular, every one of us, gets to be transformed into a “Christ-presence.” If only we could witness to this beautiful truth to each other.
Here’s the delightful poem of Hopkins to help us deepen the Word of God today.
As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell’s
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves – goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying What I do is me: for that I came.

I say more: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God’s eye what in God’s eye he is -
Christ – for Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men’s faces.

St. Anthony

In the Office of the Readings today, Feast of St. Anthony of Padua, the Saint himself reminds us that actions speak louder than words. Hence, “let your words teach and your actions speak. We are full of words but empty of actions, and therefore are cursed by the Lord, since he himself cursed the fig tree when he found no fruit but only leaves. It is useless for a man to flaunt his knowledge of the law if he undermines its teaching by his actions.”
The Saint further exhorts us to speak as the Spirit gave us the gift of speech. He says, “we should speak, then, as the Holy Spirit gives us the gift of speech. Our humble and sincere request to the Spirit for ourselves should be that we may bring the day of Pentecost to fulfillment, insofar as he infuses us with his grace, by using our bodily senses in a perfect manner by keeping the commandments.”
My sisters trained me to invoke St. Anthony when I lose something. I found out today, though that this is just among his many “specializations.” In a website about the Saint, it is reported that his patronage is so widespread and extends to all these categories:
against shipwrecks; against starvation; American Indians; amputees; animals; asses; barrenness; domestic animals; elderly people; faith in the Blessed Sacrament; fishermen; harvests; horses; lost articles; lower animals; mail; mariners; oppressed people; paupers; poor people; pregnant women; sailors; seekers of lost articles; shipwrecks; swineherds; travel hostesses; travellers; watermen.

Justin, may you now rest in our Father's arms

We just received a very sad news from the Philippines about the death of Pauline seminarian Justin. Fr. Gil Alinsangan, rector of St. Paul Seminary Foundation in Silang, Cavite writes: “In the evening of June 7, 2007, a thief entered the Bataclan residence in Cubao, Quezon City (Metro Manila). Justin Daniel Bataclan, who had gone to the kitchen to investigate, was assaulted and died of multiple of wounds. He was 20 years old. He was due to return to St. Paul Seminary in Silang, Cavite, the following day, after the summer vacation. He would be in his fifth and last year of college formation as an aspirant.” To read the full text, you can click here.
Let us pray together for this young Pauline aspirant, that he may now enjoy the full vision of God whom he has longed to know and serve all his life!

St. Barnabas, apostle

Today we celebrate the memorial of St. Barnabas whom I call the “talent scout” of St. Paul, the apostle. His name Barnabas means “son of encouragement or consolation.” He lived up to this name as the Scriptures attest.
Here is an excerpt on a commentary on Barnabas which provides light on his virtues: "With the exception of St. Paul and certainly of the Twelve, Barnabas appears to have been the most esteemed man of the first Christian generation. St. Luke, breaking his habit of reserve, speaks of him with affection, "for he was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith". His title to glory comes not only from his kindliness of heart, his personal sanctity, and his missionary labours, but also from his readiness to lay aside his Jewish prejudices, in this anticipating certain of the Twelve; from his large-hearted welcome of the Gentiles, and from his early perception of Paul's worth, to which the Christian Church is indebted, in large part at least, for its great Apostle. His tenderness towards John Mark seems to have had its reward in the valuable services later rendered by him to the Church."

My friend Charlie

If there was a Charles Lamb, there was also a Charles Wolf. The latter is my friend who, I learned at 2,15 this morning after my night adoration, “signed off” at 87 last April 25, the Feast of St. Mark, his favorite evangelist. He has entered the portals of the perpetual present and he now challenges me to put into practice what I wrote in this blog yesterday: memory = presence, in the manner of our Teacher and Lord Jesus Christ.
I met Charlie in 1990 when I was searching for a spiritual director to guide me in the 30-day Ignatian Spiritual Exercises. That was the start of another phase of my formative process. Charlie had three “passions” as I knew him.
First, there was the Gospel of Mark. According to him, Mark was the narrator par excellence of the “subversive” Gospel of God Incarnate. He passed on to me a copy of Robert Hamilton’s “The Gospel of Mark: Parable of God Incarnate.” I quote from this article which I think serves as the foundation for Charlie’s approach to God and Jesus in Mark. “God baffled Mark. Mark seems to find him at times a disappointment, a puzzle, even an enemy. (..) Nevertheless, Mark rises to this ultimate challenge by presenting Jesus as the parabole of God incarnate in a book which is itself an extended parabole and which encounters us as a Zen master encounters a pupil. It shocks us into a state of affirmation-consciousness.”
Charlie’s other passion was birds and wildlife. The webpage which I linked to his name explains the origin of his love for nature. Up to the end of his active life, he was concerned with the protection of wildlife even and especially in the midst of development. I’d like to quote a part of his homily published in the supplement of Philippine Clipper (March 1999). Sharing about his knowledge of the birds present in Ateneo de Manila campus where he walked (literally) for a good part of his life, he recounts: “What is the most beautiful bird on the campus? For me it is the pitta – a small ground bird always hiding in the underbush — and rather shy of people. It is black, white red and a beautiful cobalt blue and green. A month or so ago I heard them outside my window. But they had to move because their habitat of the underbush was cut away. They need the bushes for nesting and protection. Another name for the pitta is the jewel thrush—a truly beautiful gift of God to our campus. (…) We need to make sure that this God-given gift of wildlife does not disappear, but thrives side by side with ongoing campus development. It is not an either-or situation. Rather it is a both-and situation: both campus development and continued wildlife.(…)"
Indeed, one of the unforgettable spiritual direction sessions I had with Charlie was when I saw him so distracted with the arrival of a red-necked bird (a pitta??) which took shelter in the garden outside the counselling room where we were. Charlie’s eyes were transformed: I saw the “boyish wonder” but also a worried stare. In fact, he excused himself and explained to me what that ‘visit’ meant: “they (the developers of the university campus) are cutting the underbush again!”

Lastly, Charlie was an ardent reader of Bernard Lonergan. He told me that for a good number of years, he read Lonergan and followed the Lonergan exercises in order to arrive at real knowing – attending to one’s experience, understanding one’s experience, judging one’s experience and appropriating one’s experience. And what was all this for: it was in order to take possession of the “intelligence which was always yours and so transform your life through its creative power.” Lonergan’s epistemological method helped Charlie consolidate his Ignatian spirituality and share it with others like me. I don’t know if he would forgive me in doing this but I like to share here his “prayer-poem” on self-appropriation, an example of how his decision to “stick with Lonergan” helped him not only to self-appropriate but also to delight in his union with the Word Incarnate!
"I rest – and let my living word speak itself to my eternal Father, my word – Charlie:
- with its foundations among the electrons, protons, atoms
- with its lower manifolds: molecular, cellular, neural, psychic
- with its phantasmal roots and deep wells of unconscious cerebration
- with its sensations, emotions, affective tinglings
- with its multi-livelled conscious and intentional activities: sensing, intelligent, reflecting, affirming
- with its deliberations, decisions, choices (that have made me me)
- with its wonders of wisdom and knowledge (achieved and GIVEN) – achievement and GIFT
- with its sheer historicity
I speak my word – Charlie – in union with the Word Incarnate
- to the delight of our heavenly Father
- my word: in many ways incorrect, incomplete, inadequate
- yet a wonder am I – so rich, so poor..!
Let all that is within me praise the Lord!
The Lord hears the cry of the poor! - Charlie Wolf, (July 21-24, 1993)

Corpus Domini

Tomorrow is the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Domini). It is a special moment for us, members of the Pauline Family, born of the Eucharist.
Following the inspiring reflection of Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa on the theme, I take the Second Reading as point of departure: "For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes." (1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
St. Paul presents us here with the most ancient account of the institution of the Eucharist. Fr. Cantalamessa suggests: "Let us try to find something new in the Eucharistic mystery, using the concept of memorial: Do this in memory of me. Memory is one of the most mysterious and greatest powers of the human spirit. Everything seen, heard and done from early childhood is conserved in this immense womb, ready to reawaken and to dance into the light either by an external stimulus or by our own will. Without memory we will cease to be ourselves, we will lose our identity. Those who are struck by total amnesia, wander lost on the streets, without knowing their own name or where they live. A memory, once it has come to mind, has the power to catalyze our whole interior world and route everything toward its object, especially if this is not a thing or a fact, but a living person. (…) This very rich human background in regard to memory should help us better understand what the Eucharist is for the Christian people."

Indeed we can ask, how is the Eucharist different from what has been described above? Fr. Cantalamessa affirms, “It is a memorial because it recalls the event to which all of humanity now owes its existence as redeemed humanity: the death of the Lord. But the Eucharist has something that distinguishes it from every other memorial. It is memorial and presence together, even if hidden under the signs of bread and wine. Memorial Day cannot bring those who have fallen back to life; the Gandhi Memorial cannot make Gandhi alive again. In a sense, the Eucharistic memorial, however, according to the faith of Christians, does this in regard to Christ."
Secondly, human memory naturally brings us back to the past. Says Cantalamessa, “But together with all the beautiful things that we have said about memory, we must mention a danger that is inherent to it. Memory can be easily transformed into sterile and paralyzing nostalgia. This happens when a person becomes the prisoner of his own memories and ends up living in the past.”
But the Eucharistic memorial is qualitatively different. In what way? It projects us forward. Indeed, after the consecration, the priest says, “Let us proclaim the mystery of faith” to which we respond "We proclaim your death, O Lord, and confess your resurrection, until you come." Fr. Cantalamessa comments on this, relating it to an ancient text attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas that defines the Eucharist as the sacred feast in which "Christ is received, the memory of his passion is celebrated, the soul is filled with grace, and we are given the pledge of future glory." ("O sacrum convivium")

Come to think of it, the Eucharistic memorial has truly changed the whole meaning of “memory.” To synthesize, it is for us "ever-present-memory." In fact, the other reality we relate to the Eucharist is “Presence.” And this “Presence” is eternal and could never be “past!” It could never be simply “a memory” as we know it.

Dance for the environment

Here’s a very interesting piece of news which I chanced upon while browsing the net yesterday. It’s about the Dance tour of a group of Filipino children entitled “The Children of Mother Earth Dancing for the Environment,” presented in several cities in California.
Sta. Monica Mirror, May 24-30 issue reports: “Children of scavengers who lived off the garbage of Smoky Mountain, this professionally trained dance troupe is the vision of Fr. Ben Beltran, SVD, Smoky Mountain parish priest, who in 1993 decided to create an ensemble that would depict the importance of taking care of the environment through interpretative dance. His hope was that he would raise awareness regarding environmental degradation."
Fr. Ben Beltran himself shares: "The primary mission of this dance group is to share ideas and insights on saving Mother Earth with other youths whom they feel should be responsible for helping take care of this world and saving it from looming ecological disasters."
If you want to read the complete article, you can click here.

present day martyrs

I continue to pray for Fr. Ragheed Aziz Ganni who was shot and killed in Mosul, Iraq together with three other deacons last Sunday. And my prayer was intensified as I read a piece of news from zenit.org which published a letter written posthumously to Fr. Ragheed by his muslim friend, Adnam Mokrani, professor of Islamic Studies in the Institute for the Study of Religion and Culture at the Gregorian University, Rome.
I’d like to share some excerpts here so we could pray together for Fr. Ragheed and companions, and for his killers, for their conversion. You can find the complete article in zenit’s website.
In the name of the compassionate and merciful God,
Ragheed, my brother,
I ask your forgiveness for not being with you when those criminals opened fire against you and your brothers. The bullets that have gone through your pure and innocent body have also gone through my heart and soul. You were one of the first people I met when I arrived to Rome. We met in the halls of the Angelicum and we would drink our cappuccino in the university's cafeteria. You impressed me with your innocence, joy, your pure and tender smile that never left you. I always picture you smiling, joyful and full of zest for life.
Ragheed is to me innocence personified; a wise innocence that carries in its heart the sorrows of his unhappy people. I remember the time, in the university's dining room, when Iraq was under embargo and you told me that the price of a single cappuccino would have satisfied the needs of an Iraqi family for a whole day. You told me this as if you were feeling guilty for being far away from your persecuted people and unable to share in their sufferings.
(…)
I ask your forgiveness, brother, for when the living get together they think they have all the time in the world to talk, visit, and share feelings and thoughts. You had invited me to Iraq … I dreamed of that visit, of visiting your house, your parents, your office. … It never occurred to me that it would be your tomb that one day I would visit or that it would be verses from my Quran that I would recite for the repose of your soul …
One day, before your first trip to Iraq after a prolonged absence, I went with you to buy souvenirs and presents for your family. You spoke with me of your future work: "I would like to preside over the people on the base of charity before justice" -- you said. It was difficult for me to imagine you a "canonical judge" …
And today your blood and your martyrdom have spoken for you, a verdict of fidelity and patience, of hope against all suffering, of survival, in spite of death, in spite of everything.
Brother, your blood hasn't been shed in vain, and your church's altar wasn't a masquerade. …
You assumed your role with deep seriousness until the end, with a smile that would never be extinguished … ever.
Your loving brother,
Adnam Mokrani

Tobit 3

I’ve always wondered about the seeming unrealistic case posted by the Sadducees to test our Lord Jesus in Mk 12:18-27 about a woman married and widowed seven times. The theme of the story is about the truth of the resurrection. In any case, it is serendipitous that the First Reading today (Tobit 3:1-11;24-25) is synchronized with this gospel episode. In my meditation, I was somehow able to find answer to my question: “how would a woman with this experience feel?” Here’s what the Book of Tobit recounts: “(…) Sarah had been married to seven husbands, but the wicked demon Asmodeus killed them off before they could have intercourse with her, as it is prescribed for wives. So the maid said to her: "You are the one who strangles your husbands! Look at you! You have already been married seven times, but you have had no joy with any one of your husbands. Why do you beat us? Because your husbands are dead? Then why not join them! May we never see a son or daughter of yours!" That day she was deeply grieved in spirit. She went in tears to an upstairs room in her father's house with the intention of hanging herself.
But the beauty of the Wisdom books such as this one of Tobit is that in relating real life episodes, it also brings out the values that are more important and are to be held high in moments of trial. The story of Sarah continues thus: “She reconsidered, saying to herself: "No! People would level this insult against my father: 'You had only one beloved daughter, but she hanged herself because of ill fortune!' And thus would I cause my father in his old age to go down to the nether world laden with sorrow. It is far better for me not to hang myself, but to beg the Lord to have me die, so that I need no longer live to hear such insults."
The lectionary reading ends with a promise: “At that very time, the prayer of these two (Tobit and Sarah) suppliants was heard in the glorious presence of Almighty God.” If you want to anticipate the story and its resolution, you can go here.

Tobit

Continuing with the reading of the Book of Tobit at Mass (Tb 2:10-23), I was touched with the predicament of Tobit which expresses the perennial question: why do just people suffer? We read how Tobit was faithful to God’s laws even to the point of risking his own life. Why this suffering now – physical blindness caused by very strange circumstances?
And then on account of this sickness, we see the many complications which follow, for instance, the relationship with his wife. At one level, it was understandable how Tobit’s experience of suffering helped him to be closer to God, but on the other hand, we see how his sickness also made him so sensitive, perhaps because of the sense of helplessness. He recounts: “At that time my wife Anna worked for hire at weaving cloth, the kind of work women do. When she sent back the goods to their owners, they would pay her. Late in winter she finished the cloth and sent it back to the owners. They paid her the full salary, and also gave her a young goat for the table. On entering my house the goat began to bleat. I called to my wife and said: "Where did this goat come from? Perhaps it was stolen! Give it back to its owners; we have no right to eat stolen food!" But she said to me, "It was given to me as a bonus over and above my wages." Yet I would not believe her, and told her to give it back to its owners. I became very angry with her over this. So she retorted: "Where are your charitable deeds now? Where are your virtuous acts? See! Your true character is finally showing itself!"
Tomorrow at Mass we will hear the poignant prayers of Tobit; and this, in synchronicity with the prayers of another suffering woman, Sarah. Read on…

The Book of Tobit

This week we are reading the Book of Tobit in the First Reading at Mass. As the introduction of the New American Bible attests, "the Book of Tobit is usually listed with the historical books but it more correctly stands midway between them and the wisdom literature. It contains numerous maxims like those found in the wisdom books as well as the customary sapiential themes: fidelity to the law, the intercessory function of angels, piety toward parents, the purity of marriage, reverence for the dead, and the value of almsgiving, prayer, and fasting." For more information on this beautiful and edifying story , you can click here.
The reading today speaks of Tobit’s practice of burying his dead kinsmen despite the prohibitions of the law.
At first glance it seems that the need for this act of charity is passè and yet, come to think of it, the news which I got from zenit.org today goes: "A Chaldean priest and three deacons were shot and killed after Sunday Mass in front of the Church of the Holy Spirit in Mosul. AsiaNews.it identified the priest as Father Ragheed Ganni, 34, the pastor of Holy Spirit, located in the Nur district of the northern Iraqi city. Sources told AsiaNews that the bodies lay abandoned on the street today because no one dared to go and recover them, given the tension of the situation."
With heavy heart I come to understand how real is Tobit's story even up to now, given such a torn world as ours. How much we all need to pray and work that things could change!

Trinity Sunday

The Church’s liturgy has many beautiful ways of describing the Trinity’s presence and operation in our lives. One which I love most is the initial greeting at Mass: "The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you." (cf 2 Cor 13:13)
My contemplation of today’s mystery might be too simplistic but this is how I would like to imagine the unity and diversity of the Three persons – God the Father (Mother) as Lover, God the Son as the Beloved, God the Holy Spirit as Love. The Trinity is not so much a circle of love centered only on themselves but a centrifugal power of love that extends outward and embraces whatever or whoever would allow herself/himself/itself to be touched…
As for the Gospel today (Jn 16:12-15), I'd recommend to see the commentary on one of my favorite websites: Click here
Okay, it's a Reformation site (Lutheran) but the analysis of the text is really very insightful. Here's an excerpt to convince you:
"When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears" (Jn 16:13). And what he hears comes from the Father, who is now an open book to us (v. 15). The things we cannot bear (v. 12) have been borne by Christ for us, so there is nothing threatening about the truth any longer. In fact, the Truth about us is now great news: when the Spirit declares to us the Truth from the Father, we really receive it. It's as if we're the customs agent and the Spirit is traveling through our port of call on the Father's behalf. Anything to declare, we ask? Yes, everything, the Spirit answers. Salvation, eternity, righteousness are all submitted for our inspection--and our immersion. For what the Spirit has to declare is the Father himself, and the Spirit's destination is our own heart. His passport is the Cross, and he comes to make his home in us. The Spirit is his breath of peace that transforms our sinful hearts into hearts justified by faith.

Wisdom

The First Reading at Mass today is the last chapter of the Book of Sirach or Ecclesiasticus (51:12-20). It goes:
I will ever praise your name and be constant in my prayers to you.
Thereupon the LORD heard my voice, he listened to my appeal;
He saved me from evil of every kind and preserved me in time of trouble.
For this reason I thank him and I praise him; I bless the name of the LORD.
When I was young and innocent, I sought wisdom.
She came to me in her beauty, and until the end I will cultivate her.
As the blossoms yielded to ripening grapes, the heart's joy,
my feet kept to the level path because from earliest youth I was familiar with her.
In the short time I paid heed, I met with great instruction.
Since in this way I have profited, I will give my teacher grateful praise.
I became resolutely devoted to her-- the good I persistently strove for.
I burned with desire for her, never turning back.
I became preoccupied with her, never weary of extolling her.
My hand opened her gate and I came to know her secrets.
For her I purified my hands; in cleanness I attained to her.
At first acquaintance with her, I gained understanding such that I will never forsake her.
My whole being was stirred as I learned about her;
therefore I have made her my prize possession.
The LORD has granted me my lips as a reward,
and my tongue will declare his praises.

I’ve always wondered why “wisdom” is feminine in the Bible. Could it be because of the attributes of beauty and attractiveness attached to it? Hence the lines, She came to me in her beauty, and until the end I will cultivate her. Then there is also the positive sense of seduction attributed to it: As the blossoms yielded to ripening grapes, the heart's joy, my feet kept to the level path because from earliest youth I was familiar with her. In the short time I paid heed, I met with great instruction.

The Book of Sirach or Ecclesiasticus (meaning “Church Book”) was extensively used by the Church to present moral teaching to catechumens and to the faithful. The author, Jesus, son of Eleazar, son of Sirach (Sirach 50:27), was a sage who lived in Jerusalem. If you want to read more, here’s a link where you could go to.

communications

Sometimes I wonder if I should continue with my blogsite. Does it somehow reach some people I have in mind when I started activating this? The news which I read today in zenit.org helps me re-motivate myself. Here are some excerpts from an interview of the news agency with Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, a Franciscan priest who is also presently the preacher of the Pontifical Household.
Asked about the present risks of communications media today, he says: The means of communication are consumerist, in the sense that they encourage people to consume, and they are consumed and come to an end in themselves. Communication media are exclusively horizontal. People exchange their news items and, since we are ephemeral and transitory beings, news is equally ephemeral. Each item cancels out the previous one. Along with an increase in communications, there is a growing experience of incommunicability. Communications are limited to sounds, to rumors. Rumors assure us that we are not alone; however, there is a lack of vertical, creative communication, a total absence of others. Communication media become a mirror reflecting the image of human misery and the echo of human emptiness. In short, modern communication media convey sadness. The media place far more stress on the evil and tragic side of the world than on the good and positive aspects. Mass media set before our eyes, at all times, what we could be and are not, what others do and we do not do. This gives rise to a feeling of resigned frustration and passive acceptance of one's own fate or, on the contrary, to an obsessive urge to struggle out of anonymity and impose oneself on other people. Another negative feature in mass communication, particularly in show business, is the exploitation of women, the abuse of their bodies and, in general, a negative view of the relationship between the sexes.
The interview proceeds then to ask about the alternative presented by Christian communications:

- Zenit: Could you describe the characteristics of communications based on the Christian outlook, which could serve to offset the methods and content of today's communication?
- Father Cantalamessa: I think the Gospel can help us change this situation. It is the Good News of God's love for mankind. God knows us perfectly well, but he does not use this knowledge to judge us. His correction is love. I can say, as a Franciscan, that we must contribute to spreading hope and joy. Francis is the man of perfect happiness, God's minstrel -- not an illusory happiness, but a happiness based on hope. We have to insist on this ground of faith -- deep union with Christ and, particularly, with Christ's cross.
- Zenit: So then, is there any secret to Catholic communications?
- Father Cantalamessa: If we want to evangelize through mass media, the secret is quite simple: to be in love with Christ.