Christ our Light !

I’m really annoyed that I can’t be where I’d like to be this Saturday; but long-standing previous commitments mean that I just can’t be at S. Dominic’s Church in London, where one of their Deacons – fr David Rocks OP, a friend of mine – is being ordained to the Sacred Priesthood.

fr David was the deacon who, at my first Easter Vigil as a Catholic, sang those words ‘Christ our Light’: although in fact it was the Light of Christ which nearly prevented David from ever receiving the grace of priesthood.

One day at Blackfriars he was pulling down the very substantial sanctuary lamp to change the light before the Tabernacle, and the whole lamp – chains and all – detached itself from the ceiling and fell on his head before smashing the middle of one of the altar steps ! The altar step was quite seriously damaged, and it was necessary to replace a whole section of it.

David was luckier, and made a good recovery, so that on Saturday he will join the many holy priests of the Order of Preachers; and it saddens me that I shall not be able to be there to sharei that very special occasion. However, he will have the benefit of my prayers that day – for whatever good they may be – and I shall look forward to receiving his blessing very shortly afterwards.

Do, please, pray for fr David as he approaches this, the second most important day in his life, and ask Our Blessed Lady and S. Dominic to pray to God that he may always be a good and holy priest, and bring many souls to Him.

Third Time Lucky - Happy Birthday !

And today is the Birthday of His Hermeneuticalness, Fr Tim of Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen, and author of 'The Hermeneutic of Continuity' : so a third resounding ‘Happy Birthday’ this week . . . and may S. John Fisher, and Our Lady of the Rosary, always uphold him and his ministries.

Ampersand

Judge Not . . .

The Crescat recently had a post discussing the tendency of some Catholic bloggers to be judgemental about the attitudes, tastes, or opinions of others (and yes, it’s something I recognize in myself, at least sometimes) : and it raised the question of what happens if by one’s judgemental attitude one is responsible for driving a soul away from God ?

Well, at first sight the answer is obvious : no sincere Catholic blogger wants to be responsible for driving even one soul away from God. What, I’m sure, we are all hoping to do is to bring souls to God . . . to stimulate, inform, challenge, or whatever . . . but to attract souls to the glory of our Faith, that they may be saved thereby.

On that level, then, it’s a good point : and we should all be very careful never to say anything which might drive a soul away from God.

At the same time, it does seem to me that there is another angle to it; which is the question of how one approaches matters where people hold opinions on which there is simply no possibility of giving way . . . the absolute sanctity of the unborn child, for instance, and the absolute sinfulness of abortion.

Are we to say that we must not say this plainly and unmistakably because we might, by doing, so, drive someone away from the Church ? I don’t think so, I’m afraid.

Of course, we must make it quite clear that what we are condemning is the sin, not – and never – the sinner; that we sympathize with the problems which lead women to do this dreadful thing, and that the Church (if not we personally) both can and will do whatever support is necessary to ensure that they are spared the guilt of murdering their unborn children . . . but that doesn’t mean that we can even suggest that abortion is ever an acceptable solution in God’s eyes; even if there are times when human beings may find it so.

We have God’s authority for judging the sin, and finding it atrocious : as for the sinner, that is in God’s hands, and can safely be left to a good and holy Confessor, who will know how to bring the confidence of God’s love to someone who has done something – anything – which the Church condemns because God condemns it.

So, it seems to me that whilst driving a soul away from God would be a great tragedy, and the possibility certainly requires us to ensure that we are quite definite in our comments about such issues so that our readers understand very clearly that it is the sin which we condemn, not the sinner (and, as a corollary, that we do not condemn as sinful something which is merely a matter of personal opinion) . . . but we have no authority to suggest that something which we know to be a sin is not, simply to avoid upsetting anyone . . .

Rainforest

What’s it all about . . ?

Some of you may be old enough to remember the song ‘What's it all about, Alfie ?’

Well, today is, for me, a day to ask myself exactly that question : what is the feast of Ss Peter & Paul all about for me ?

The answer, for me, is this : I became a Catholic because I came to realize that it’s very easy to believe in something; but without a touchstone, how can you be sure that what you believe is what Our Lord wants you to believe ? Of course there are many churches; and most of them are extremely vociferous about that is right and what is wrong : but the problem is that none of them is able to justify its position. As I once said about a leading figure in the creation of a new bible-based local community church ‘I am quite sure from my own experience that he is both devout and thoughtful; and I have no doubt that he seeks to follow the teachings of Christ faithfully and scrupulously according to his lights. What I cannot believe is that, having apparently wholly failed to do so for well-nigh two thousand years, Almighty God should now suddenly feel inclined to give the fullness of His revelation solely to my former PE teacher !’

So how do you know what you're meant to believe ? Well, the answer is ultimately a simple one : ‘Ubi Petrus, ibi Ecclesia’ – God’s Church is the one which is in the hands of S. Peter; which means, of course, in communion with the Apostolic See.

Just how I came to the full realization of that vital truth isn’t particularly important; but get there I did, so that for me today is a very important day, as I hear the Mass of Saints Peter & Paul, and contemplate the security one gains from knowing that one is indisputably part of the Church which Christ founded . . . the ark of salvation which He offers to us all.

May all my followers and readers be much blessed today; and may Almighty God also richly bless His Church, and our Holy Father Pope Benedict the successor of Peter.

Udata Hathi