Cardinal Pell on True and False Conscience

In doing some background reading on conscience for some articles and presentations on conscience I ran across the following article.

Cardinal Pell on True and False Conscience

The key paragraph that struck me was:

"Much of the debate over conscience in Catholic circles focuses on the possibility of a conscience against the Church's teaching. This seems to me a peculiar notion. For a start, it would mean that dissenters believed that following the Church on, for example, contraception or same-sex relationships, would actually give them a guilty conscience, not just frustrated wishes. Yet it seems clear that most dissenters do not fear guilt if they obey the Church: What they fear is precisely the frustration of their unsatisfied wishes. ... "

It makes a strong point about the difference in the experience of being convicted by our conscience and being frustrated in our desires. I cannot imagine anyone feeling guilty about following the church's teaching.

I take that back. I can imagine someone feeling guilty because they are allowed to express their sexuality while their homosexual brothers and sisters cannot. Hmmm. Something to think about.

Lincoln’s Log 11-7-10

Do you believe in the resurrection?

This Sunday we are presented with a question from the Sadducees. The Sadducees were a group of leaders at the time of Jesus who did not believe in the resurrection. The Sadducees were made up of aristocratic, priestly families who had become collaborators with the Roman occupiers. Their beliefs shifted with the political winds. They were invested in maintaining the status quo in order to protect their own power and privilege. This position blinded them. The faith of the Sadducees was completely in this world. Their question about who a dead man would be married to if he had married multiple times during his life reveals how this-worldly their thinking was. Their fate was tied to this world and so they could imagine nothing beyond it. An afterlife was inconceivable to them.

In contrast, our faith teaches us about the reality of life after death. There is more to life than can be found in this world. Our faith roots us in heaven; not in our position, power, or privilege in this world. As Catholics, we know that this world will never satisfy us. We are pilgrims in the world. We live in the world, but are not of this world.

In times of struggle and suffering our belief in eternal life becomes apparent. Because of his faith, Ignatius of Antioch could write, “It is better for me to die in Christ Jesus than to reign over the ends of the earth. Him it is I seek – who died for us. Him it is I desire – Let me receive pure light...” He wrote this on the way to the Roman Colosseum, condemned to be devoured by lions. Courage like this is rooted in a faith in eternal life.

May we always remember that we are made for a heavenly homeland far beyond this world.

Peace,

Lincoln

De Mello to Br. Roger - What a transition

A week or so ago I finished the volume of the Modern Spiritual Masters on Anthony de Mello and now I'm reading the volume on Brother Roger of Taize.

What a change!

• De Mello is full of humor and spiritual "shock and awe" with short stories and exercises packed like dynamite to jar a new insight.  Br. Roger is like a smoldering fire or a deep pool.  The insights are profound and invite the reader to the depths of the heart.
• De Mello invites the head to new understanding, Br. Roger invites the heart to new feelings.
• De Mello's writings are never about himself or his own experience.  They invite the reader to experience something new for themselves.  Br. Roger lays out the way his own heart sees the world and invites the reader to see the world with his eyes.
• De Mello focuses on the individual.  Br. Roger focuses on the person in community.
• De Mello is a thinker.  Br. Roger is a feeler.
• De Mello invites laughter.  Br. Roger invites tears.
• I'm reminded of the saying "life is a comedy for those who think and a tragedy for those who feel."
• De Mello seems light.  Br. Roger, heavy and profound.

Both of these men are spiritual masters, but their approaches could not be more different.  They each have come to know and communicate the God of Jesus Christ in powerful, life-giving ways.  I thank God for each of them.  I can imagine myself being healed through laughing with De Mello and weeping with Br. Roger.  Both men offer a way to God in freedom and love.

ZENIT - On St. Matilda, God's Nightingale

This address by Benedict XVI was recommended by my friend Dwayne.  It points out the power of the liturgy to make saints.  The formative power of the liturgy is incredible and I am struggling, as a Parish Director in a parish without a resident priest as Pastor to unleash that power.  How does one unleash the formative power of the liturgy in a community which gathers only once a week?

ZENIT - On St. Matilda, God's Nightingale

Nostalgia

This morning as I was shoveling snow, I was thinking about my class reunion coming up this summer and wondering what I would say to my classmates.

One phrase kept coming to my mind.

At one point in our lives, it seemed that "the future's so bright I gotta wear shades." It seemed like we were on top of the world. Now, at least for me, it feels like the world is on top of me. What happened?

I don't know what happened. Is growing up all about losing optimism or is it about gaining wisdom? What does hope look like after, or in the midst of, a mid-life crisis?

Hope is the key virtue of our time. The poster of Obama with the single word, HOPE on it has captured the imagination of many people. Hope.

I titled this post nostalgia and maybe nostalgia is an attempt to find hope in the past. It was good then, or at least the way we remember it was good - so it will be good again. Goodness is possible.

I don't know. I thought I had more insight while shoveling snow. It seemed wise at the time but now it seems trite.

Hope.

The Call of Samuel

Today's reading recounting the call of Samuel got me thinking. Our call comes from what wakes us up. Samuel is asleep, and is awakened by something. He doesn't know what it is that awakens him and mistakes it for Eli.

My own experience of call is one of awakening but also a similar confusion. What is it that is waking me up. I've mistaken it several times, like Samuel. Fortunately, Eli doesn't have a choice. My heart has realized some of the false things that I thought had awakened me. I know there are more. My career is one thing that I think should awaken to, but it is becoming clearer that it is only God that will satisfy.

Yesterday I was reading Nouwen's, The Inner Voice of Love and he writes:

There is a deep hole in your being, like an abyss. You will never succeed in filling that hole, because your needs are inexhaustible. You have to work around it so that gradually the abyss closes.
Since the hole is so enormous and your anguis so deep, you will always be temped to flee from it. There are two extremes to avoid: being completely absorbed in your pain [I have been experiencing that far to much lately], and being distracted by so many things that you stay far away from the wound you want to heal.

The call is to engage the pain of life. The pain awakens us, like Samuel was awakened. However, the challenge is to let that pain speak. Let the pain teach us and call us to God and not to avoidance (Eli). Eventually all Eli's will fail and we will be confronted with the pain of life that we have been avoiding. Maybe this is purgatory? Anyway, I'm rambling. I am glad this is a private blog and no one else will see this.

1-18-09 Reflections on Snow Shoveling and Prayer

I've always wanted to write an article on snow shoveling and prayer. OK, not always, just since I moved to WI and started to try to find meaning in snow shoveling (there is certainly a lot of it to do).

Teresa of Avila has the classic analogy of prayer as going through stages similar to watering a garden. First, one begins by hauling the water from a nearby stream. Then a pump is put in and the water is pumped. Third, the garden is irragated and comes with little or no effort. Finally, rain pours down from above. Prayer works the same way. At first it takes a lot effort. After some time prayer rains down with no effort from the one praying.

Snow shoveling.... When we first moved to WI we just had a shovel. It was a lot of work to shovel just a little snow. Now we have a "snow scoop" which makes it a lot easier. It still takes effort, but not quite as much. Eventually, we may move on to a snowblower and eventually the sun will come out and melt the snow.