Ask...and You Shall Receive

The true use of speech is not so much to express our wants as to conceal them.
--Oliver Goldsmith

Learning to communicate, for little children, means squeezing huge desires into little words, like "hurt" or "cookie." We learn early that we're only going to get part of what we want.

Some of us never recover from this disappointment. We use words to manipulate others, to hide our feelings. We may imagine that we have the power to control others, and so we tell ingenious stories to mask what we think is our naked strength.

But we're deluding ourselves, rather than other people. The strategy of falsehood and control finally traps us in a web of lies, where even we don't know what we want. Clarity is a choice, and so is happiness, if we want to choose them.

Asking for something is risky: I might be refused. But if I don't even ask, I'll never hear "yes."

Overcoming Pessimism on the Path to Full Christian Unity

Yesterday evening in the Roman basilica of St. Paul's Outside-the-Walls, the Pope presided at the celebration of Vespers to mark the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

In his homily the Holy Father recalled how this year "the theme suggested for our meditations came from the Christian communities of Jerusalem. ... The Christians of the Holy City invite us to renew and strengthen our commitment to rebuild full unity by meditating on the model of life followed by the first disciples of Christ gathered in Jerusalem. 'They devoted themselves', we read in the Acts of the Apostles, 'to the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers'".

"The Apostles' teaching, fraternal communion, breaking bread and prayer were the tangible elements of the life of the first Christian community in Jerusalem, united by the action of the Holy Spirit. At the same time, these are the essential traits of all Christian communities in all times and places. We could, in other words, say that they represent the fundamental aspects of the unity of the visible Body of the Church".

Benedict XVI highlighted how "over the course of the last few decades, the ecumenical movement, 'fostered by the grace of the Holy Spirit', has made important progress. ... Nonetheless, we are well aware that we are still far from the unity for which Christ prayed", he said. "The unity to which Christ, through His Spirit, calls the Church, cannot be realised only at the level of organisational structures but is forged at a more profound level, in 'confessing the one faith, celebrating divine worship in common, and keeping the fraternal harmony of the family of God'.

"Efforts to re-establish unity among divided Christians cannot", the Pope added, "be reduced only to recognising our reciprocal differences and to achieving peaceful coexistence. What we long for is that unity for which Christ Himself prayed, and which by its nature becomes manifest in the communion of faith, of the Sacraments and of the ministry. The journey to this unity must be perceived as a moral imperative, a response to a specific call from the Lord. For this reason it is important to overcome the temptation to despondency and pessimism, which is a lack of faith in the power of the Holy Spirit".

The Holy Father continued: "We must passionately continue the journey towards this goal, through serious and rigorous dialogue to develop our shared theological, liturgical and spiritual heritage; through reciprocal knowledge; through the ecumenical formation of new generations and, above all, through conversion of heart and prayer".

Referring then to today's Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, he recalled how "in his long missionary journeys Paul, as he roamed through various cities and regions, never forgot his bond of communion with the Church of Jerusalem. Collections to support the Christians of that community ... occupied an important place in Paul's concerns. He considered it not only as a work of charity but as a sign and guarantee of unity and communion between the Churches he founded and that original community in the Holy City, a sign of the unity of the one Church of Christ".

Finally, Benedict XVI addressed a special greeting to "our brothers and sisters from other Churches and ecclesial communities", including "members of the Joint International Commission for Dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Ancient Churches of the East, who are meeting in Rome during these days. We entrust the success of your meeting to the Lord, that it may be another step forward towards our longed-for unity". He also addressed a special greeting to representatives of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany, "who have come to Rome, with the bishop of the Church of Bavaria".

Electronic Giving on the Rise

Could Collection Plates be a thing of the past?

Brie Hall felt awkward the first few times she passed the collection basket at her Catholic church without tossing in a donation envelope.

But it is more convenient to give her gift to God by direct debit from her checking account.

The tradition of passing the church plate might become a relic of the past, as a majority of Americans pay bills electronically and move away from using cash or writing checks.

Despite concerns about commercializing something so personal, electronic giving to churches is growing. 

“You just kind of get over it … because you know you’ve donated,” said Hall, a communications manager for the Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

At the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Washington, about half of the 1,600 congregants who give regular donations do so electronically, up from 20 percent four years ago.

“For some people, they’ll never change,” said its pastor, Monsignor John Enzler. “Other people find it’s a wonderful way to do their giving.”

Along with Catholic dioceses, religious organizations such as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America have approved electronic giving as an option for their members. Each church can decide whether to adopt the practice, available from electronic payment processing companies since the late 1990s.

Church staff are often the toughest sell, said Vijay Jeste, product manager for electronic giving for Our Sunday Visitor, a Huntington, Indiana-based maker of donation envelopes for Catholic churches, which started offering electronic payment processing in 2009.

Reluctance to pay a fee to process collections melts away as parishes “realize that this is the way to go,” Jeste said.

“This is not an option they can put off for too long,” he said.

Read the rest here.

Angelus: Seeking the Full Unity of All Christians

At midday today Benedict XVI appeared at the window of his study overlooking St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus with faithful gathered below.

In his remarks he reflected on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which takes place annually from 18 to 25 January and the theme of which this year is drawn from the Acts of the Apostles: "one in the Apostles' teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread and prayer". The Pope pointed out that "it is highly significant that this theme should have been proposed by the Churches and Christian communities of Jerusalem, meeting in ecumenical spirit. We know how many trials our brothers and sisters in the Holy Land and the Middle East have to face. Their service is ... strengthened by a witness which, in some cases, even goes so far as the sacrifice of their lives. And so, while we joyfully welcome the points for reflection suggested by the communities living in Jerusalem, we gather close around them and this becomes another factor of communion for us all.

"Today too", he added, "in order to live in the world as a sign and instrument of intimate union with God and of unity among men, we Christians must base our lives on these four pillars: life founded on the faith of the Apostles transmitted through the living Tradition of the Church, fraternal communion, the Eucharist and prayer. Only in this way, remaining firmly united to Christ, can the Church carry out her mission effectively, despite the limits and shortcomings of her members, despite her divisions".

The Holy Father then went on to refer to this Sunday's Gospel reading in which St. Paul, concerned about disagreements in the Christian community of Corinth, poses the question: "Has Christ been divided?" By saying this, the Pope explained, the Apostle is affirming that "any division in the Church is an offence to Christ. At the same time he is saying that it is in Christ, the one Head and Lord, that we can become united by the endless power of His grace".

"A serious commitment to convert to Christ is the way that leads the Church - at a time that God will decide - to full visible unity. One sign of this are the ecumenical meetings taking place throughout the world over these days", he concluded.

Christian Unity: A Prayer of the Ages

The second part of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century have shown significant developments in the ecumenical movement, the work of uniting Christians in their religious beliefs, practices and ecclesiastical authority. Last Saturday, the establishment of the first ordinariate -- a structure similar to that of a diocese -- for Anglicans who wish to be in full communion with the Catholic Church marks an important step in this ecumenical movement. 

The work of promoting unity between Christians was begun by Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity, who taught his disciples to love one another and to forgive each other their faults. He chose Peter and his successor to be the visible head of his Church, and before his death, he prayed to the Father that all his disciples would maintain the unity of the faith and thus give glory to God and lead others to believe in God. Christians, out of human weakness and fallen nature, have however, been divided over the centuries. From the first centuries, bishops and Christian writers have attempted to reunite separated Christians with mixed results. 

The greatest divisions among Christians resulted in separation with the Orthodox in the 11th century, and Protestants and Anglicans in 16th centuries. These divisions had many complicated causes, including cultural and political elements, and led to greater separation. There were significant efforts to heals these divisions at the Second Council of Lyons (1274) and the Council of Trent (1545-1563), respectively, but the attempts failed. 

The cause for Christian unity, however, continued because it was the last will of its founder, and because of the inner logic of Christian life. In the 19th century, the missionary activity of Christians in parts of Africa led to a greater awareness of the urgent need for Christian unity. How could missionaries preach the Gospel of Christ if they were separated and at odds with one another? 

Prayer campaign

In addition to this growing desire for unity, some persons gave an important impetus to Christian unity, preparing the work of the Second Vatican Council, which gave support in a manner unparalleled in history to the work of the ecumenical movement. Among these is Father George Ignatius Spencer, an Anglican clergymen who converted to Roman Catholicism, and in 1839, began a prayer campaign for the unity of Christians. That year he won the support of John Henry Newman, founder of the Oxford Movement, who helped him to engage Anglicans in England to pray every Thursday for this intention. A few years later, Newman himself would be received into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. 

Uniting people who have separate practices and ecclesial government is a very difficult task. Newman himself did not foresee in his time a corporate reunion between Anglicans and Roman Catholics. Still, he prayed for this. 

Years later in 1908, Reverend Paul James Wattson, an Episcopalian clergyman in New York State, began to observe eight days of prayer for this intention between the feast of the Chair of Peter, then celebrated on Jan. 18, and the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, Jan. 25, to pray for the unity of Christians.[1] Wattson, who became Roman Catholic, found approval in Pope St. Pius X for observance of an octave of prayer for Christian unity.

Soon afterward in 1916, Pope Benedict XV extended the observance to the universal Church. Other men and women followed suit in increasing the prayer for Christian unity. Among them stands out the French priest Father Paul Coutrier, who in 1933 extended the octave to those who sought a spiritual ecumenism without seeking a visible reunion under the Successor of Peter. 

Through Father Coutrier’s work, Mother Maria Gabriella, a young nun at the Monastery of Grottaferrata in Italy, was inspired by the Holy Spirit to offer her life for the cause of Christian unity. She dedicated herself to Christ’s Prayer for Christian unity found in chapter 17 of St. John’s Gospel, and died on April 23, 1939, on Good Shepherd Sunday. Pope John Paul II beatified her as Maria Gabriella of Unity on Jan. 25, 1983, the last day of the week of Prayer for Christian Unity.[2] 

The growing prayer for unity and the increased awareness of this need, inspired the Fathers of Vatican II to urge the work of ecumenism to all Christians. In the "Decree on Ecumenism" they urged Christians to pray for this desire of Christ himself, and to seek greater understanding and respect among each other. The Council called for a conversion of hearts as a first requirement for Christian unity. The same year as the end of the Council a very important gesture of mutual forgiveness took place: Pope Paul VI and Athenagorus, Patriarch of Constantinople, took the very important step of lifting mutual excommunications between Constantinople and Rome. 

Following in the path of Vatican II, Pope John Paul II and his collaborators worked unceasingly to advance the cause of ecumenism through prayer and fraternal gestures, and through numerous meetings of representatives of ecclesial communities as well as study meetings of theologians. In his letter "Ut Unum Sint," he urged the Orthodox Christians to consider ways of accepting the primacy of the Successor of Peter. During his pontificate there were major advances in relations with Orthodox Churches and various ecclesial communions such as the Lutherans. In recent years, the fruit of his meetings with successive Archbishops of Canterbury and the work of many has borne fruits of greater respect and friendship with Anglicans, despite important disagreement in the ordination of women and practicing homosexual men. 

New development

In 2009, Benedict XVI made a provision whereby Anglican laymen and clergymen could come into communion with Rome while keeping many English customs and language proper to their liturgy and ecclesial life. He provided for the creation of future Anglican ordinariates, which would permit the incorporation of former Anglicans, including Anglican clergymen who choose to be ordained Roman Catholic priests. Each ordinariate will have its own head or ordinary, a program for the formation of priests and laity, and its on ecclesiastical tribunal. This new development in the history of Christianity constitutes an important step in the path of Christian unity. 

On Saturday, Jan. 15, 2011, Benedict XVI established in England the first Anglican Ordinariate with the name of Our Lady of Walsingham. Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster said, "This is a unique moment, and the Catholic community in England and Wales is privileged to be playing its part in this historic development in the life of the universal Church."[3] 

That same day, three former Anglican bishops, John Broadhurst, Andrew Burnham and Keith Newton, who had resigned their position as bishops of the Church of England and had been received in the Catholic Church on New Year’s Day, were ordained Catholic priests by Archbishop Nichols. These priests became the first faithful of the ordinariate, and Father Keith Newton was appointed as the head of the ordinariate.

At the start of Lent, groups of faithful and approximately 50 Anglican clergy will enroll as candidates for the ordinariate and be received into the Catholic Church in Easter. The clergy will be ordained priests on Pentecost. This first ordinariate was very fittingly placed under the spiritual patronage of Blessed John Henry Newman, and named for Our Lady of Walsingham, one of great Marian Pilgrimage sites of the Middle Ages. 

Ecumenism is a difficult task, but one which is inescapably tied with the very essence and mission of Christian life. The Holy Spirit, who guides the Church, has moved men and women throughout the ages to pray and work for the unity of all Christians. In the words of Vatican II, the "change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement."[4] As the Church continues its tortuous path in history, it embraces this call to holiness and unity. 

The proceeding was a reflection by Fr. Juan Velez, priest and author. 

Thought for the Day: Believe in Youself

You've got to create a dream.
You've got to uphold the dream.
If you can't, go back to the factory
or go back to the desk.
--Eric Burdon

We develop goals, priorities, and action steps. We feel energized and ready to move full speed ahead. But midway, as our momentum picks up, new thoughts enter our mind. Do I really want this? What if it creates new problems for me? If I reach this goal, I'll have nothing to look forward to.

Being wishy-washy gets us nowhere. These thoughts are the ego's way of looking for obstacles. We acknowledge the doubts and then quickly cast them aside and move forward with complete conviction, like a warrior. If the goal still feels right, we keep moving ahead. We know in our hearts that doing what we believe in keeps us on the right path.

Today I will believe in my goals.