Easter Poem

Christ’s cries, across the centuries, sent

to wring repentance out of hearts of flint
curtain rending;
blackness sending;
cries of love. Father, forgive them.
 

Man-and-God, Christ, facing death, cried out
as blood, hot from His still beating heart
dripped down the rough cross
to echo across
ages. My God, my God, why?
 

Prophecies whispered throughout the World
that the faithful might believe in their God -
and all gods are One -
here crowned in His Son,
who proscribed false prophets. For they know not.
 

Whiplash words, to crack across deaf ears,
earthquake sounds silence the shattering jeers
of worldly-wise wits,
hypocrites
who pray without prayer. Have you forsaken me?

Hell-harrowing cries from the hilltop hail,
so the scourged wielder of the cleansing flail
to the true Heaven led
His ever-hopeful dead.
And you, this day, shall be with me.
 

Suffer little children, lest children suffer.
When they starve, what bread will you offer?
Do to them, do to me,
only blind men will see
that they know not what they do.
 

Father forgive them, though they forsake me,
for my sake, forgive them and make me
the only sacrifice;
let my death suffice
although, and because, it is done.

Ted Millichap

8 April 2012

AN OPEN LETTER TO PROF. JOSEF RATZINGER, POPE BENEDICT XVI

Dear Joe,

Some years back when you were still the head of the Holy Office (“of the Sacred Inquisition” is, as you know, stilled chiseled in stone over its dark building immediately next to St. Peter’s square), I wrote you an open letter concerning the role of women in the Catholic Church. At that time I addressed you with a familiar “Dear Joe,” relying on our relationship from the late 60s/early 70s when I was frequently a Visiting Professor at the Catholic Theology Faculty of the University of Tübingen, and you were Professor Ordinarius there. I did so in the thought that this form of address would tell you that I seriously hoped you might open your mind and heart to hear what I wanted to say to you. I have no way of knowing what success I may have had, if any, in that regard. However, relying on our former “collegiality,” I am approaching you once again in this fraternal fashion.

I am disturbed that especially of late you have been giving signals that are in opposition to the words and spirit of Vatican Council II, during which you as a leading young theologian helped to move our beloved Catholic Church out of the Middle Ages into Modernity. Further, while a professor at our Alma Mater University of Tübingen, you, along with the rest of your colleagues of the Catholic Theology faculty, publicly advocated 1) the election of bishops by their constituents, and 2) limited term of office of bishops (see the book Democratic Bishops for the Roman Catholic Church, http://institute.jesdialogue.org/ecumenical_press/democractic_bishops).

Now—http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/06/world/europe/pope-assails-disobedience-among-priests.html?ref=world— you are publicly rebuking loyal Catholic priests for doing precisely what you earlier had so nobly advocated. They, and many, many others across the universal Catholic Church, are following your youthful example, trying desperately to move our beloved Mother Church further into Modernity. I deliberately use the word “desperately,” for in your own homeland, Germany, and elsewhere in Europe, the churches are empty, and also are so many Catholic hearts when they hear the chilling words coming from Rome and the “radically obedient” (read: “yes-men”) bishops. In my own homeland, America, the birthplace of modern freedom, human rights, and democracy, we have lost—in this generation alone!—one third of our Catholic population, 30,000,000, because the Vatican II promises of its five-fold Copernican Turn (the turn toward 1. freedom, 2. this world, 3. a sense of history, 4. internal reform, and above all, 5. dialogue) have all been so deliberately dashed by your predecessor, and now increasingly by you.

Joe, you were known as one of the Vatican II theologians who promoted Pope St. John XXIII’s call for aggiornamento (bringing up to date) by the reforming spirit of returning to the energizing original sources (resourcement!) of Christianity (ad fontes!—to the fountains!). Those democratic, freedom-loving sources of the Early Church were exactly the renewing “sources,” the “fountains,” of renewal that were spelled out in detail by you and your Tübingen colleagues.

I am urging you to return to that early reforming spirit of your youth. I am reminded of that spirit now in preparation for the 50^th anniversary celebration of the Journal of Ecumenical Studies (JES), which my beloved wife Arlene and I launched in 1964. There in the very first issue of JES are articles by your friend and fellow Vatican II theologian Hans Küng, and yourself (!), looking to bridge over the isolating Counter-Reformation gulf that divided the Catholic Church from the rest of Christianity, and indeed the rest of the modern world.

Joe, in that spirit, I urge you to return to your reforming fountains: Return ad fontes!

Pax!

Len

Leonard Swidler, Ph.D., S.T.L. dialogue@temple.edu

Professor of Catholic Thought and Interreligious Dialogue, Temple University

Co-Founder, Association for the Rights of Catholics in the Church

Pope Benedict's Chrism Mass Homily 2012

English version

Competing Voices

John Chuchman today, in Catholica, gives voice to a common concern one hears expressed in communities where people feel increasingly disenfranchised from their church or faith community: should we speak up or remain silent; should we stay or leave? It's a good discussion point. What thoughts do you have?

Not a day goes by
without my hearing two internal competing voices:
one saying,
These hierarchs are destroying my church,
I must speak out against their abuse;
the other urging,
John, it's a waste of time and energy;
the good 'ole boys will never change the rules of their club
and jeopardize their prized positions.
Give it up.

Superimposed on those voices within,
I get contrary messages from others:
some saying,
Please keep speaking out against the abuse;
silence is complicity;
others urging me,
Don't be controlled by your anger.
Let's move on, John.

I most enjoy my writings and workshops
on Spirituality and spiritual growth and nurturing,
but
find it almost impossible to stop speaking out and writing
against the destruction of my church.

Millions of Catholics have simply left, moved on.
The Church has been such an important part of my life;
I seem unable just to leave.

I grieve
the loss of all church can and should be for me
and, as a grief counselor, I know I must continue to name my loss
without letting my loss name me.
However, it is not a loss that's over and done,
but one that keeps happening
as the abusive hierarchs
dismantle Church
abusive act after destructive act.

Any ideas?

Love, John Chuchman

This reflection is also published on John Chuchman's blog.

Lenten Reflection - Bread

Ted reflects:

“While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to his disciples and said, ‘Take this and eat; this is my body.’ (Matthew 26:26)

The greater Indus region was home to the largest of the four ancient urban civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, South Asia and China. Harappa was a city in the Indus civilization that flourished around 2600 to 1700 BCE in the western part of South Asia, although the Indus civilisation traces its roots back to around 6000 BCE. Indus Valley civilization was mainly an urban culture sustained by surplus agricultural production and commerce, the latter including trade with Sumer in southern Mesopotamia.

Among the archaelogical finds, and what marks Harappa out as an urban civilisation, are the remains of what are taken to be granaries, and wheat was one of the main commodities traded by Harappans among themselves and with other peoples as far away as Mesopotamia.

So we can say, without stretching a point too far, that bread in one form or another was a part of the life of the earliest civilisations, and formed part of the staple diet of peoples among whom Abram and Sara would have lived.

“The Lord appeared to Abraham by the oaks of Mamre…[Abraham] said ‘My lord if I find favour with you, do not pass by your servant… Let me bring a little bread, that you might refresh yourselves.’” (Genesis 18:1,3)

While the Hebrews were wandering in the desert, the Lord sent them a form of bread to eat.

So, when Jesus said “this is my body”, is it possible to interpret this as saying “I have been with mankind since the earliest days, sustaining you”?

Last night, the liberal Rabbi, Mark Solomon, gave a talk to our parish about some of the symbolism of the Seder, the Passover Meal, as it is currently celebrated by Jews. He explained that the Seder was devised by Rabbis in Roman times, around 100 AD, following the destruction of the second temple in Jerusalem, and may well be different from the passover meal eaten by Jesus and his disciples.

The Seder commemorates the last meal eaten by the Hebrews before they were liberated by the hand of God from slavery in Egypt, before, in effect, the nation of Israel was born and set off in search of the Promised Land.

During the meal, bread is broken into two unequal parts. The larger part is shared out among all those at the table, while the larger part is wrapped in cloth and, in the course of the meal, is hidden by the president of the meal. The children present are then sent to find the bread and bring it back at the end of the meal. It is then consumed as a final course.

Rabbi Mark was not able to say for sure whether this custom was observed in Jesus’ time, but for me, at least, the symbolism was immense, and on various levels – a true Midrash moment.

The meal, for Jews is not complete until the large part is re-united with the smaller part – just as the Jewish nation will not be complete until the ten lost tribes are found and brought back to the table with the smaller portion of the nation.

For me, as a Christian, the body of Christ is taken away after being broken on the Cross, wrapped in a cloth and hidden from sight. After three days, it is restored and the Passover of the Christians – the liberation from slavery to sin and ignorance – is complete.

Our Father

Questions from a Ewe offers a A Lenten Reflection on Ash Wednesday Readings which makes some interesting points.

At the end the author offers the Lord's Prayer in four translations.

It is good to ponder, and even to quietly pray the translation of the prayer Jesus taught us from the original Aramaic.

 You, from whom the breath of life comes,

Who fill all realms of sound, light and vibration

May your light be experienced in my utmost holiest.

Your Heavenly Domain approaches.

Let Your will come true - in all that vibrates (the universe) just as in all that is material and dense (earth).

Give us understanding, assistance for our daily need,

detach the fetters of faults that bind us, like we let go the guilt of others.

Let us not be lost in superficial things, materialism, common temptations,

but let us be freed from that which keeps us off our true purpose.

From You comes the all-working will, the lively strength to act, 

the song that beautifies all and renews itself from age to age.

What is a Secular Catholic?

How many of us would fall into the category of 'Secular Catholic'?

Kunoichi on Get Religion comments “I think it’s fascinating to consider that there are “secular” Catholics. It feels like an oxymoron,” It’s actually not an oxymoron when you know the word is actually religious in origin. The word meant “in the world.” When an aspiring priest, nun, monk, etc. took their vows, they had a choice to live a “religious” life, isolated from the world, or a “secular” life within it. The term extended to include others who worked within the church but did not take vows.

It is only in relatively recent times that the word has come to be used as “not-religious.” So technically, virtually all Catholic priests are “secular” becuase they live and serve “in the world.”

There are further comments

Charlie: "I think it’s fascinating to consider that there are “secular” Catholics. It feels like an oxymoron, but we have long accepted that there are a great many secular Jews who self-identify culturally with Judaism but embrace atheism or Buddhism or… as their primary faith framework.

It would be interesting to find out just what the faith practices of a typical secular Catholic look like. Do they attend mass? Do they have their children baptized? Do they pray? Do they look for support from their church in times of need? It seems like a topic that might interest the folks at the Pew Forum, especially given the stats on the exodus from the church."

Katherine:  "Probably one of the worst things from this ad [in the NY Times] was the number of blogging Catholics who agreed with them. Many of these bloggers are young. As a young Catholic who is a liberal Catholic, It’s incredibly insulting that within the Church we’re viewed as not needed. We’re negotiable. So many “traditional” Catholics would rather us be gone. So why stay where I”m not wanted?

But why do I stay? I’ve asked myself this a lot lately. I stay because of the Real Presence in the Eucharist. I stay because I see hope, at least hope in the Social Justice encyclicals. The Church I know and love extols faith, charity/justice, and love. Unfortunately, the broader church has an isolationist view, one that has room ONLY for Catholics who are JUST LIKE THEM.

But I stay. A friend told me I could change the Church from the inside. I pray I love my Church enough to be like St. Mary MacKillop—she loved it so much she was excommunicated by it."

The Secular Catholic blog asks, "Is it to be "a fully orthodox Catholic and a lover of the Tridentine Mass"  who believes that "(t)he Church, as we may know, is the mater et magistra. Much like our very own mothers, the Holy Mother Church warns us about things that would likely lead to error and stuff like that—through its official documents, ex cathedra or no. We must also take into consideration that even non ex cathedra statements are based on the infallible Magisterium; that which we—as orthodox Catholics—have to follow."   


The view of a Theologian:  “Secular Catholics are people who were baptized as Catholics, but they find it impossible to make Catholicism the center of (their) lives, by which I mean Catholicism as defined by the official teachings of the church,"  Associate Professor Tom Beaudoin of Fordham University,New York says.  For these believers, there are “things that they learned about faith from Catholicism. Then there are things they learned from their jobs, from school experiences, from their music and from their favorite movies."

"They are hybrid believers and their faith comes from all over the place."  Quoted in The Salisbury Post
 

We Are Church (Ireland)

The Tablet reported this week on the Vatican-sponsored review of the Irish Church.

There seems to be confusion over what is meant by dissent.

One view proposes that the "dissident views" are those held about fundamental issues such as the divinity of Christ or the reality of the Resurrection.

An alternative view says that "dissent" refers to those opposed to mandatory celibacy, concern about the top-down governance of the Church and the ordination of women.

We Are Church (Ireland) criticised the call for a more rigid enforcement of existing Church teaching.   Their statement included the observation that there was "a widespread belief among laity and priests that the full participation of women in all ministries, a ban on compulsory celibacy and the involvement of all the baptised in decision-making is necessary for the renewal of the Church."

How the Fundamentalist Mind Compels Conservative Christians to Force Their Beliefs on You

One of our co-workers shares with our wearechurch discussion group many interesting articles and news reports that he has found on the Web.

Today George has sent us one that deserves careful thought and reflection..  

We give a short quote here but recommend you go to Valerie Tarico's article:

To explain why Christians will sometimes violate their own commitment to compassion or truth in the search for converts, it helps to consider the psychology of fundamentalist religion.
Religion has a set of superpowers—ways it shapes or controls human thinking and behavior. Chief among these is the fact that religions take charge of our moral reasoning and emotions, giving divine sanction to some behaviors and forbidding others.

Valerie Tarico is a psychologist and writer in Seattle, Washington and the founder of Wisdom Commons. She is the author of "Trusting Doubt: A Former Evangelical Looks at Old Beliefs in a New Light" and "Deas and Other Imaginings." Her articles can be found at awaypoint.wordpress.com.

Happy St Patrick's Day