Scripture in Late Eastertide: Romans 8:14-17

The last weekdays of the Easter season present us with a different set of readings for Evening Prayer. Monday finds us in a familiar place if we’ve been on pilgrimage with Saint Paul in his letter to the Romans preparing for the Jubilee of Hope. The apostle’s masterful centerpiece, what we know as the eighth chapter, gives us a reflection in preparation for Pentecost.

For those who are led
by the Spirit of God
are children of God.
For you did not receive a spirit of slavery
to fall back into fear,
but you received a spirit of adoption,
through which we cry, “Abba, Father!”
The Spirit itself bears witness
with our spirit
that we are children of God,
and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if only we suffer with him
so that we may also be glorified with him.

Saint Paul reminds us that the Resurrection gives not only the promise of new life, but also that we will be drawn into something deeper than discipleship in the world, or a friendship with Christ. We have been grafted into the very family of God. Our status as heirs does not absolve us from trials and suffering. The glory and celebration of Easter is a struggle to maintain for fifty days, let alone a lifetime. But we can certainly live with and in the hope of the glory that is to come.

Dignitas Infinita 36: The Drama of Poverty

Today, looking at the first topic of chapter 4, The Drama of Poverty.

36. One of the phenomena that contributes significantly to denying the dignity of so many human beings is extreme poverty, linked as it is to the unequal distribution of wealth.

The sad thing is that so many Western Catholics are conditioned by the specter of Socialism! that they can’t really see the underlying indignity.

As Pope St. John Paul II emphasized, “One of the greatest injustices in the contemporary world consists precisely in this: that the ones who possess much are relatively few and those who possess almost nothing are many. It is the injustice of the poor distribution of the goods and services originally intended for all.”[John Paul II,  Sollicitudo Rei Socialis 28]

Distribution is far more than some imaginary authority lining people up to give them an equal share. Sometimes powerful people game the system and cut the many out of a fair share of their labors. In the US, that’s pretty much been the game for the past four decades. But-socialism! tends to reinforce the unfair labor practices.

Pope Benedict took a look at comparing nations:

Moreover, it would be misleading to make a cursory distinction between “rich” and “poor” countries, for Benedict XVI recognized that “the world’s wealth is growing in absolute terms, but inequalities are on the increase. In rich countries, new sectors of society are succumbing to poverty and new forms of poverty are emerging. In poorer areas, some groups enjoy a sort of ‘super-development’ of a wasteful and consumerist kind, which forms an unacceptable contrast with the ongoing situations of dehumanizing deprivation.” The “‘scandal of glaring inequalities’ continues,”[Benedict XVI,  Caritas in Veritate 22, quoting Paul VI,  Populorum Progressio 9] where the dignity of the poor is doubly denied because of the lack of resources available to meet their basic needs and the indifference shown toward them by their neighbors.

Indifference, prejudice, racism, misogyny: a lot of sins spread under the guise of wealthier people looking down their noses and the non-rich.

Click this link to read the DDDF document on the Vatican site.

Spes Non Confundit 3: Hope Is Born of Love

3. Hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross: “For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life” (Romans 5:19). That life becomes manifest in our own life of faith, which begins with Baptism, develops in openness to God’s grace and is enlivened by a hope constantly renewed and confirmed by the working of the Holy Spirit.

We touch upon a good sacramental theology here. The sacraments of initiation are full of expressions of hope. And why not? Just as the birth of a child is a time of hope for parents, when a person is consecrated into the life of the Church there is also a celebration of hope for the local community. One of the hymns in the New Testament style capture a bit of it:

How great the sign of God’s love for us,
Jesus Christ our Lord:
promised before all time began,
revealed in these last days.
He lived and suffered and died for us,
but the Spirit raised him to life.
People everywhere have heard his message
and placed their faith in him.
What wonderful blessings he gives his people,
living in the Father’s glory,
he fills all creation
and guides it to perfection.

Perfection? Really? That is indeed a great hope.

Further along in the letter to the Romans, the apostle taps into a sublime confidence with what we know as the eighth chapter.

By his perennial presence in the life of the pilgrim Church, the Holy Spirit illumines all believers with the light of hope. He keeps that light burning, like an ever-burning lamp, to sustain and invigorate our lives. Christian hope does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God’s love: “Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril or the sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:35.37-39).

That hopeful moment of initiation must mature, of course. Faith is cultivated in the neophyte by the various communities: parents, extended family, parish, and peers. Note also that “charity” is an experience that nurtures the believer. Saint Augustine takes us out today:

Here we see the reason why this hope perseveres in the midst of trials: founded on faith and nurtured by charity, it enables us to press forward in life. As Saint Augustine observes: “Whatever our state of life, we cannot live without these three dispositions of the soul, namely, to believe, to hope and to love”. [Serm. 198 augm. 2]

You can check the full document on the Vatican website here.

Dignitas Infinita 34-35: Vatican II and Since

34. In addressing some of the many grave violations of human dignity today, we can draw upon the teachings of the Second Vatican Council, which emphasized that “all offenses against life itself, such as murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, and willful suicide” must be recognized as contrary to human dignity.[Gaudium et Spes 27]

Hmm … blogged about this here over eighteen years ago. At first glance, one might wonder about waging war, but a clear view would find all these offenses against life taking place in times and and locations of war. Certainly that includes times of domestic unrest and uncertainty.

We have more:

Furthermore, the Council affirmed that “all violations of the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, physical and mental torture, undue psychological pressures,” also infringe upon our dignity.[Ibid.]

As well as social sins that impact large numbers of people broadly:

Finally, it denounced “all offenses against human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children, degrading working conditions where individuals are treated as mere tools for profit rather than free and responsible persons.”[Ibid.] Here, one should also mention the death penalty, for this also violates the inalienable dignity of every person, regardless of the circumstances.[Cf. Catechism 2267, and CDF, Letter to Bishops Regarding the New Revision of Number 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the Death Penalty (1 August 2018), nos. 7-8]

This one still finds resistance among some Catholics. Situations of capital punishment involve some level of discernment if not discrimination (broad term). Some murders are capital crimes and some not. Some serious crimes may descend to the level of execution, while others do not. And this would be found in nearly all judicial systems governed by the same legal code.

Pope Francis sees it as a matter of human dignity:

In this regard, we must recognize that “the firm rejection of the death penalty shows to what extent it is possible to recognize the inalienable dignity of every human being and to accept that he or she has a place in this universe. If I do not deny that dignity to the worst of criminals, I will not deny it to anyone. I will give everyone the possibility of sharing this planet with me, despite all our differences.”[Fratelli Tutti 269] It is also fitting to reaffirm the dignity of those who are incarcerated, who often must live in undignified conditions. Finally, it should be stated that—even if someone has been guilty of serious crimes—the practice of torture completely contradicts the dignity that is proper to every human being.

So much for wrangling a confession out of a suspect.

35. While not claiming to be exhaustive, the following paragraphs draw attention to some grave violations of human dignity that are particularly relevant.

And we will take each of these trespasses against human dignity in turn over the next several posts. Buckle up, folks.

Click this link to read the DDDF document on the Vatican site.

Spes Non Confundit 2: A Word of Hope

“A word of hope” leads us to the letter to the Romans. Pope Francis frames the opening of his document with chapter 5, followed by a bit of Bible Study for us:

2. “Since we are justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing in the glory of God… Hope does not disappoint, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us” (Romans 5:1-2.5).

In this passage, Saint Paul gives us much to reflect upon. We know that the Letter to the Romans marked a decisive turning point in his work of evangelization. Until then, he had carried out his activity in the eastern part of the Empire, but now he turns to Rome and all that Rome meant in the eyes of the world.

In the western world, it meant not only the political capital of the empire, but also a hub of commerce, transportation, and especially culture.

Before him lay a great challenge, which he took up for the sake of preaching the Gospel, which knows no barriers or confines. The Church of Rome was not founded by Paul, yet he felt impelled to hasten there in order to bring to everyone the Gospel of Jesus Christ, crucified and risen from the dead, a message of hope that fulfils the ancient promises, leads to glory and, grounded in love, does not disappoint.

Rome would also have been the place where Christianity met its sternest test: those waves of persecution. Having hope would have sustained the early church in that lightning rod situation.

You can check the full document on the Vatican website here.

Dignitas Infinita 33: Some Grave Violations of Human Dignity

Today we begin Chapter 4, a litany of Some Grave Violations of Human Dignity. This will involve briefly touching on matters settled in the eyes of many Catholics, but a few outside of the moral absolutes (murder, adultery, apostasy) might exhibit some open spots. We’ll look at those.

Just today on social media, a friend of a friend commented on matters like immigration and the environment not involving issues of the Church’s expertise. The contrast was with abortion, euthanasia, and same-sex unions.

When we move beyond the theoretical, we might discover that poorly concocted policy on refugees might result in people being returned to death squads in their native countries. Or that a corporation might poison a population living near a chemical or radioactive dump.

Pope Francis takes the lead here:

33. In light of the previous reflections on the centrality of human dignity, the final section of this Declaration addresses some specific and grave violations of that dignity. It does so in the spirit proper to the Church’s magisterium, which has found full expression in the teaching of the recent Pontiffs, as mentioned previously. For example, Pope Francis, on the one hand, tirelessly reminds us of the need to respect human dignity: “Every human being has the right to live with dignity and to develop integrally; this fundamental right cannot be denied by any country. People have this right even if they are unproductive or were born with or developed limitations. This does not detract from their great dignity as human persons, a dignity based not on circumstances but on the intrinsic worth of their being. Unless this basic principle is upheld, there will be no future either for fraternity or for the survival of humanity.”[Fratelli Tutti 107] On the other hand, he never ceases to point out the concrete violations of human dignity in our time, calling us each to awaken to our responsibility and the need to engage in a concrete commitment in this regard.

Click this link to read the DDDF document on the Vatican site.

Spes Non Confundit 1: Hope Does Not Disappoint

In his title, Pope Francis varies from the usual address to the Church–bishops, clergy, laity, etc., to this which incorporates a brief prayer:

TO ALL WHO READ THIS LETTER
MAY HOPE FILL YOUR HEARTS

1. SPES NON CONFUNDIT. “Hope does not disappoint” (Romans 5:5). In the spirit of hope, the Apostle Paul addressed these words of encouragement to the Christian community of Rome. Hope is also the central message of the coming Jubilee that, in accordance with an ancient tradition, the Pope proclaims every twenty-five years.

So, this coming jubilee is not a “special” one–it is the usual four-times-a-century event that began many centuries ago.

Pilgrimage by travel to Rome is far easier the past century than it ever has been, even from the distant ends of the Earth. Still, there are many options for believers to participate as pilgrims. As Pope Francis reminds us, the ultimate end of any pilgrimage–long and expensive, or the more modest–is the encounter with Jesus.

My thoughts turn to all those pilgrims of hope who will travel to Rome in order to experience the Holy Year and to all those others who, though unable to visit the City of the Apostles Peter and Paul, will celebrate it in their local Churches. For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door” (cf. John 10:7.9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as “our hope” (1 Timothy 1:1).

Why hope in 2025?

Everyone knows what it is to hope. In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring. Even so, uncertainty about the future may at times give rise to conflicting feelings, ranging from confident trust to apprehensiveness, from serenity to anxiety, from firm conviction to hesitation and doubt. Often we come across people who are discouraged, pessimistic and cynical about the future, as if nothing could possibly bring them happiness. For all of us, may the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope. God’s word helps us find reasons for that hope. Taking it as our guide, let us return to the message that the Apostle Paul wished to communicate to the Christians of Rome.

We will return to the message of Paul the Apostle frequently in the pages of this document. Especially his message to the Christians in the book we often refer to as “Romans.” Thoughts?

You can check the full document on the Vatican website here.

Prayer of Ministry

In my research for a prayer book I’m compiling, I ran across this piece attributed to Saint Pierre Favre:

With great devotion
and new depth of feeling,
I hope and beg, O God,
that it finally be given to me to be the servant
and minister of Christ the consoler,
the minister of Christ the redeemer,
the minister of Christ the healer,
the liberator,
the enricher,
the strengthener.
To be able, through you, to help many;
to console, liberate and give them courage;
to bring them light not only for their spirit
but also for their bodies;
and bring, as well, other helps to the soul and body
of each and every one of my neighbors.
I ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

I cannot use this prayer for my project, but I was struck immediately by the elaboration on the ministry of Christ the consoler. Saint Pierre adds the clause “liberate and give courage.”

For people stuck in victimhood, I know there’s a tendency to just relive the abuse. Maybe in memory, maybe in repeated behaviors. The prayer suggests that the consoling minister can lead people out of their depths. I’m sure it’s not as easy as a post on a blog, but two things are needed, according to Pierre Favre.

First, the recognition that some victims are trapped and imprisoned and need liberation. Jesus alludes to this also as part of his ministry, “He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives.” (Luke 4:18c)

Second, it’s not enough to listen to someone, unlock their prison door and let them out. Courage is required to send someone back into the wide world, and possibly encounter their persecutor again. The Psalmist has gone through a time of trial, and often expresses the strength and courage God has imparted. here, for example:

Truly, who is God except the Lord?
Who but our God is the rock?
This God who girded me with might,
kept my way unerring,
Who made my feet like a deer’s,
and set me on the heights,
Who trained my hands for war,
my arms to string a bow of bronze. (Psalm 18:32-35)

Dignitas Infinita 32: Progress

Chapter 3 ends here. We finish an examination of Dignity, the Foundation of Human Rights and Duties. A reminder and caution: the DDDF has said this document is a starting point, not the resolution of all the challenges to human dignity in the world. The Church concedes human beings have made progress. Where progress may be slow, there is a wider opposition to the oppression of others. Christians have been a part of that, though not exclusively.

32. At the same time, human history shows clear progress in understanding human dignity and freedom, albeit not without shadows and risks of regression. Such advancement in understanding human dignity is demonstrated by the fact that there is an increasing desire to eradicate racism, slavery, and the marginalization of women, children, the sick, and people with disabilities. This aspiration has been bolstered under the influence of the Christian faith, which continues to be a ferment, even in increasingly secularized societies. However, the arduous journey of advancing human dignity remains far from completion.

We have been a factor, and continue to be. But others have joined us, sometimes taking the lead.

Click here to read the DDDF document on the Vatican site.

Coming: Spes Non Confundit

I noticed the document (AKA papal bull) for the Jubilee Year dropped today on the Vatican website here. It looks a bit longer than seven thousand words, so not long.

“Hope does not disappoint,” wrote Saint Paul in the letter to the Romans. In Latin, our title, Spes non confundit.

The outline is as follows:

• Introduction (1)
• A word of hope (2-4)
• A journey of hope (5-6)
• Signs of hope (7-15)
• Appeals for hope (16-17)
• Anchored in hope (18-25)

As I reviewed the document quickly, there’s a lot to digest. Not deep theology, but some pastoral observations, suggestions, and directives. A lot of us struggle for hope these days. Personally, I can attest to it myself. Perhaps it comes at just the right moment in history for the Church.

For the accompanying image, I know I’ve used the official seal, “pilgrims in hope” once before on this site:

But I thought a simple lamp lit in darkness fit my mood about things.

Thoughts?

Dignitas Infinita 31: Charity, Justice, and Dignity

31. Moreover, it would be unrealistic to posit an abstract freedom devoid of any influence, context, or limitation.

That abstract freedom belongs to an entirely free and loving God. Human beings are constrained by any number of circumstances, especially obstacles a densely-populated and cluttered universe provides.

Instead, “the proper exercise of personal freedom requires specific conditions of an economic, social, juridic, political and cultural order,”[Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 137] which often remain unfulfilled. In this sense, we can say that some individuals enjoy more “freedom” than others. Pope Francis has given special attention to this point: “Some people are born into economically stable families, receive a fine education, grow up well nourished, or naturally possess great talent. They will certainly not need a proactive state; they need only claim their freedom. Yet, the same rule clearly does not apply to a disabled person, to someone born in dire poverty, to those lacking a good education and with little access to adequate health care. If a society is governed primarily by the criteria of market freedom and efficiency, there is no place for such persons, and fraternity will remain just another vague ideal.”[Fratelli Tutti 109]

This will widen the zone of discomfort from the libertarians, but it is undeniably true. Some conservatives admit as much. How do we move beyond the “vague ideal” into something better? The two-pronged effort of charity and justice. Here we circle back to the root principle of human dignity:

Therefore, it is crucial to understand that “removing injustices promotes human freedom and dignity”[Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 137] at every level of human endeavor. To enable authentic freedom, “we must put human dignity back at the center and, on that pillar, build the alternative social structures we need.”[Francis, Address to Participants in the World Meeting of Popular Movements (28 October 2014).] Similarly, freedom is frequently obscured by a variety of psychological, historical, social, educational, and cultural influences. Real and historical freedom always needs to be “liberated.” One must, moreover, reaffirm the fundamental right to religious freedom.

Religious freedom is in need of a more careful definition. What does the religious person do? Worship in a community, pray as an individual, explore one’s faith intellectually, interpersonally, and in reaching out to others, including in acts of charity and furthering the causes of justice. Some of the modern flashpoints seem less tied to religion and more open to interpretation. This is especially true when a religious person claims an awareness of a set of sins, choosing to disengage from some people while interacting with others.

Click this link to read the DDDF document on the Vatican site.

Slander in Question

I know it’s out of context, but would you consider this a piece of slander?

There is on the Right no shortage of academic and intellectual initiatives in varying relationship to Trumpism, but all anxious about orthodoxy (consider Bishop Robert Barron’s Word on Fire project and its new tagline — ‘journal of theology and philosophy’ — or the ‘Sacra Doctrina Project’ in Boston).

Bishop Barron did. There followed a threat to sue. From that a generous retraction on what was really a side point in a published article:

With the author’s permission, the editors have removed a paragraph that originally appeared here because Bishop Robert Barron’s media ministry, Word on Fire, informed us that they consider it slander for them to be in any way associated with Donald Trump or Trumpism.

As other conservatives line up with tongues out for Mr Trump’s footwear, I feel a bit relieved that at least one prominent Catholic has come out as a Never Trumper.

Michael Sean Winters has his usual insightful and biting commentary here. Thin-skinned is the label attached to the episode and the bishop. MSW’s most telling comment touches on ecclesiology:

it raises a still larger issue, the fact that a diocesan bishop, armed with a personal media empire, thinks it is appropriate to try to stifle public discussion with a magazine and a theologian, neither of which are found in his diocese.

My sense is that Commonweal and Professor Faggioli offered Bishop Barron and his empire a courtesy. In polite company, such episodes are occasions to build bridges. So we’ll see how two Catholic media outlets get along in the future.

Maybe Bishop Barron could have addressed the association with Donald Trump. But that might have meant taking a political stand in the United States in 2024. Perhaps that would have cost the media empire some followers and income.

In the age of social media, are the boundaries of a diocese of any consequence?

The short answer is no.

Dignitas Infinita 30: Looking at False Freedom

30. Freedom is a marvelous gift from God. Even when God draws us to him with his grace, he does so in a way that never violates our freedom. Thus, it would be a grave error to think that by distancing ourselves from God and his assistance, we could somehow be freer and thus feel more dignified. Instead, detached from the Creator, our freedom can only weaken and become obscured.

What is the Gospel story that illustrates this as well as any? The misadventures of the younger brother in Luke 15:11-17. What seems at first a glorious adventure in freedom with a full purse and a ready libido evolves into enslavement.

The same happens if freedom imagines itself to be independent of any external reference and perceives any relationship with a prior truth as a threat; as a result, respect for the freedom and dignity of others would also diminish.

The point here, once again, is that the mature human person (believer or not) recognizes that rights and responsibilities are linked, and that neither really comes to fulfillment without the other.

B16 takes us out:

As Pope Benedict XVI explained, “A will which believes itself radically incapable of seeking truth and goodness has no objective reasons or motives for acting save those imposed by its fleeting and contingent interests; it does not have an ‘identity’ to safeguard and build up through truly free and conscious decisions. As a result, it cannot demand respect from other ‘wills,’ which are themselves detached from their own deepest being and thus capable of imposing other ‘reasons’ or, for that matter, no ‘reason’ at all. The illusion that moral relativism provides the key for peaceful coexistence is actually the origin of divisions and the denial of the dignity of human beings.”[Benedict XVI, Message for the Celebration of the 44^th World Day of Peace (1 January 2011)]

I know “moral relativism” was a particular bugaboo of the late pope. I think the term is too widely applied. Even if Pope Benedict had a clear notion, I’m not sure his acolytes are as clear. I think there are people who are indeed incapable of seeking truth and goodness. I also believe that many people who embrace a non-conformity with Catholic morality are not always as depraved.

Click this link to read the DDDF document on the Vatican site.

Scripture in Late Eastertide: Ephesians 2:4-6

Ascension Eve, when it falls on its customary day, is celebrated later today. Here, we begin a final shift, mostly in the Scriptures of Evening Prayer. Daily regulars with the Hours will notice a transition from the post-Resurrection citations to the Ascension and Pentecost.

God is rich in mercy,
because his great love for us,
he brought us to life with Christ Jesus
when we were dead in sin.
By this favor you are saved.
Both with and in Christ Jesus
he raised us up
and gave us a place in the heavens.

Obviously, somebody chose this Scripture to remind us of the Lord ascended and preparing that place in glory. But this is a lovely passage that springs from a Lenten consideration of mercy and sin, that Last Supper promise of ultimate union, taking us through the promise of new life, and that we will follow Jesus in his pilgrimage into glory.

The liturgical year can be experienced as a pilgrimage. Sometimes we are moving ahead. Often we are at rest or in an in-between state. But even then the current of grace is urging us onward. That is more what the entire book of Ephesians is about. This passage is one of the core nuggets that teaches about the Church and what it is. More importantly, how our identity drives our imitation of Christ and furthering his mission in the world. And that, friends, is what Ascension is mostly about. We aren’t spectators gazing into the skies, imagining what lies beyond them. We are entrusted with a particular mandatum.

Dignitas Infinita 29: Freedom Needs To Be Freed

Chapter 3 picks up its last topic in paragraphs 29-32, “Freeing the Human Person from Negative Influences in the Moral and Social Spheres.” The DDDF offers a roundabout motto that human freedom needs to be freed. To an extent, yes. Certainly. Sometimes a human being chooses evil, and that can happen as a willful choice. Sometimes evil can be unleashed by human error. Can we ever hope to control our own error?

This paragraph begins with a reminder that many things are under our conscious control:

29. These fundamental prerequisites, however necessary, are not enough to guarantee a person’s growth consistent with his or her dignity. While “God created man a rational being, conferring on him the dignity of a person who can initiate and control his own actions,”[Catechism 1730] with a view to the good, our free will often prefers evil over good. Thus, human freedom, in its turn, needs to be freed. In his letter to the Galatians, St. Paul affirms that “for freedom, Christ has set us free” (Galatians 5:1), recalling the task proper to each Christian, on whose shoulders rests a responsibility for liberation that extends to the whole world (cf. Romans 8:19ff). This is a liberation that, starting from the hearts of individual people, is called to spread and manifest its humanizing power across all relationships.

Click this link to read the DDDF document on the Vatican site.