Seasons of Grace

Sweet St. Agnes had taken a vow of chastity—so she refused when suitors wanted her hand in marriage.  Even the governor’s son Procop could not win her heart, since she was pledged to God.  Angered, Procop accused her of being a Christian—which was illegal—and when she would not renounce her faith, she was condemned to death.  She was only 13 years old when she was beheaded for her faith. 

On January 21, the Feast of St.Agnes, Pope Benedict continued a 131-year-old tradition—the Blessing of the Lambs.

In a ceremony guaranteed to evoke a smile, each year on the feast two young lambs are brought to the Holy Father to be blessed. Covered in blankets, one white (to signify St. Agnes’ purity) and one red (representing her martyrdom), each lamb wears a crown of red and white flowers. The photo (from CNS/L’Osservatore Romano) shows the lamb that was blessed four years ago.

We’ll hear of the lambs again on June 29, the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul. On that day, we commemorate the martyrdom of these two great pillars of the Church. The Pope, in a special ceremony, places a “pallium” over the shoulders of the newest archbishops from around the world. And that’s where those little lambs come in: The pallium, a circular stole, is woven from the lambs’ fleece.  It reminds us how the archbishop, like the Good Shepherd, cares for his flock.

An interesting thing about the lambs:  Whereas many animals fight when being led to the slaughter, lambs go quietly, willingly—just like Jesus, the Lamb of God, who willingly sacrificed his life for you and me.

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What next? 

It’s been a tough week for religion in public life.

• The Obama Administration’s attack on religious liberty via the EEOC (at least the Supreme Court gave them a handslapping in that case);
• the HHS Department’s insistence on forcing religious organizations to fund contraceptives; and now,
• the U.S. Air Force RCO has removed “God” from its official badge.

That consequences of that last one are not nearly as dire, because fewer people are affected.  As one of many recent evidences of our government’s hostility toward faith, though, it’s like one more small splash in the constant drip-drip-drip of institutional secularism.

The U.S. Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) was activated in April 2003, for the purpose of assessing current and future security threats and developing systems for defending theU.S.against acts of terrorism.  The RCO’s official patch, like the patches of many other governmental agencies, contained a sort of “inside joke”:  The patch read,  

Opus Dei Cum Pecunia Alienum Efficemus

(Doing God’s Work with Other People’s Money).

Apparently, though, the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers can’t take a joke.  After several months of needling the government agency, they persuaded the RCO to omit the word “God” from their patch.  Instead, the agency’s logo now reads:

Miraculi Cum Pecunia Alienum Efficemus

(Doing Miracles with Other People’s Money)

The MAAF has described the change as “a victory, but certainly nothing to write home about.”

I agree.  And by the way, if–as the atheists and freethinkers assert–there is no God, then who, exactly, is going to be performing this “miracle”?

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Here we go again.  After losing in a landmark 9-0 ruling before the Supreme Court last week in the case of Hosanna Tabor Church and School v. the EEOC, the Obama Administration is moving boldly forward once again to crush religious liberty in America.

The issue this time is whether religious organizations will be forced to include contraception coverage in their health insurance plans.  At 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Kathleen Sebelius, U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services (HHS), announced that HHS would ignore the concerns of religious employers regarding HHS rules mandating health insurance coverage for sterilizations and contraception—including “morning-after pills” that cause abortion.  Religious organizations, which had asked for a wider conscience exemption which would have allowed religious groups to “opt out” of funding contraceptives and sterilization procedures for their employees, were granted a one year extension, but must comply with the law.

Despite a strong public protest by Catholic and other faith groups, as well as by individual citizens, President Obama continues to insist that we must all have abortion coverage, and that we must all pay for it, for ourselves and for others.

According to Michael Sean Winters at the National Catholic Reporter, the President telephoned Archbishop Dolan this morning to give him the news, in advance of the formal statement by Sebelius.  Winters writes:

“…one sentence in the statement from HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius stands out: “The administration remains fully committed to its partnerships with faith-based organizations, which promote healthy communities and serve the common good.”

What can those words “fully committed” possibly mean? They have punched Sr. Carol Keehan and Fr. Jenkins and many other Catholics who have taken shots for this Administration in the nose. They have jumped over the First Amendment to coerce religious organizations to do something we find morally objectionable. They have given people who loved the Affordable Care Act reason for pause, great pause. They have given the Republicans a huge battering ram with which to beat swing voting Catholics over the head.

The USCCB has rushed to issue a formal statement.  Here is the video by Archbishop Timothy Dolan, head of the USCCB, expressing his shock and discouragement about the President’s policy. 

This case is, I believe, sure to be overturned by the Supreme Court.  It’s just unfortunate that the Obama Administration couldn’t have learned their lesson with the Hosanna Tabor case.

More to follow.

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Father Rafaeli Mallena was enjoying dinner when he heard the first explosion—and he immediately felt that something was seriously wrong.

As Catholic chaplain aboard the cruise ship Costa Concordia, Father Mallena was accustomed to the ship’s lilting rhythms—and this was different.  He rose and returned to the chapel to pray.  He was still in the chapel forty minutes later, when the alarm sounded for passengers to abandon ship.

As the alarm blared in the hallway, Father Mallena safeguarded the precious items in his care:  He hurriedly consumed the Blessed Sacrament, which had been reserved in the tabernacle; and he locked the safe containing valuables, including jewelry and money, which had been entrusted to him by the ship’s staff.  Only then did he join the crowd of confused and panicked passengers who were trying to reach safety.

The chaplain helped injured crew and passengers, comforting them amid the chaos of the emergency evacuation.  He was angered by early press reports which claimed that the ship’s crew were negligent, not taking care of passengers.  Father Mallena reported first-hand stories of heroism on the part of the ship’s crew and staff:  “There was a staff captain, for example,” he said, “who saved three or four people who could not swim.”  

According to reports from the Catholic Herald, Father Mallena tried to stay aboard in effort to help; but he was persuaded by crew members that it would be better if he boarded a lifeboat and left the sinking ship.  He has returned to his native Italy, where he is recovering from the trauma.

So Who, Exactly, Are These Cruise Chaplains?

I’ve met several cruise chaplains through the years, and all have been good priests; those I’ve met have generally been retired priests who haven’t the stamina to manage full-time parish work, but who still want to be of service to Christ and His Church.  Father Mallena, who served aboard the Costa Concordia, is 70 years old, so he likely fit that description.

On ships throughout the world, Catholic chaplains minister to the needs of travelers and vacationers, as well as staff and crew:  offering Mass, hearing confessions, and providing spiritual counseling and advice when needed. 

The priests are registered as cruise chaplains through the Apostleship of the Sea, a ministry of the Roman Catholic Church in the Maritime world.  The organization was originally founded in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1920 by Rev. Donald Macintosh, Arthur Cannon and Peter Anson, who were concerned about the lack of witness the Church was showing aboard ship.  Two years later, Pope Pius XI bestowed his blessing on the ministry and encouraged the Apostleship of the Sea to extend its mission to the oceans and shores of all the hemispheres.  Around the world, the AOS assists seafarers to meet their basic needs:  a safe work environment, a just contract, a safe haven while in port, spiritual renewal, communication with loved ones back home, a few hours of recreation and a genuine welcome.

The Apostleship of the Sea falls under the direction of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People.  Because the Apostleship of the Sea’s “parishioners” move around the world, it’s necessary that their pastors be in touch with one another.  The AOS World Congress, held every five years, ensures this connection between countries.

In every major country, a bishop serves as the AOS Episcopal promoter, overseeing the work of a national director.  The national director oversees the chaplains’ efforts, helping them in developing their ministries.  He also operates a communications center, produces a newsletter, establishes and maintains rapport with organizations protecting seafarers’ interests, and appeals to the diocese for port chaplains.

Here in the United States, the Apostleship of the Sea has its national headquarters in Baltimore, Maryland.  Its newsletter is Catholic Maritime News in the United States. 

Mariner’s Prayer

Our Lady, Star of the Sea, Mother of God and our Mother, you know all the dangers of soul and body that threaten mariners.  Protect your sons and daughters who work and travel on the waters of the world, and protect also their families that await their return. 

Star of the Sea, Mother of the Church, give light and strength to those chaplains and lay ministers who bring the love of your Divine Son among mariners.  Fill their hearts with a supernatural and life-giving zeal for the apostolate. 

Star of the Sea, light shining in the darkness, be a guide to those who sail amid the storms and dangers of life.  Enlighten the hearts of ardent disciples and bring us all to the safety of heaven’s port.  Amen.

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Why marry?

The Catholic Church teaches that there are two purposes for marriage, and that these two purposes have equal weight.  The two purposes are unitive and procreative—or, stated simply, (1) growth in mutual love between the spouses, and (2) the generation and education of children.

This is so obvious, so self-evident, one is tempted to say, “Well, duh….”  Of course marriage is about sex and babies!

But in today’s sex-saturated society, with contraception and the hook-up culture and abortion and in vitro fertilization and same-sex “marriage,” that second purpose is often all but obliterated.  Sexuality—that’s just for fun, right?

Such would seem to be the message from a Baptist pastor and his wife who held a highly promoted 24-hour “bed-in” last weekend on the roof of their Texas church.  Ed and Lisa Young, pastors at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, staged the rooftop event to promote the release of their new book “Sexperiment:  7 Days to Lasting Intimacy with Your Spouse.”

No doubt, the Youngs got the idea from John Lennon and Yoko Ono, who during the Vietnam War era staged two highly publicized “Bed-in’s for Peace” in Amsterdam and Montreal.  “Make Love, Not War” was their mantra.

Somehow, Pastor Young has gotten the impression that culture has kicked the bed out of church, and God out of the bed.  In “Sexperiment,” Ed and Lisa talk about God’s purpose (note the singular) in marriage—not only personal pleasure, but connection to each other and to Him.  “The bed-in,” Ed says, “is about empowering couples to experience the relationship and recreation that God has for them every day of their lives!”

Perhaps he should talk to the Catholics!

Thinking Boldly, Thinking Bigger

There is an all-too-prevalent misconception that religious people, especially Catholics, somehow think sex is “wrong” or “dirty.”  In actuality, the Catholic Church respects and honors (and protects) sexual expression in marriage because it is one of God’s greatest gifts.  The Church teaches that just as Christ (the Groom) gives his love (the gift) to the Church (his Bride), so in marriage the man freely and faithfully gives himself as the gift to his wife; she freely and faithfully receives his gift, and freely and faithfully returns the gift, and if it is God’s will the couple will have a child (bear fruit).

Psalm 127 speaks of the great gift of fertility:

Certainly sons are a gift from the LORD,
the fruit of the womb, a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the sons born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them.

So God, blessing the union of two spouses, gives them the gift of a child, a precious new life which will go with them into eternity.  But faced with this great gift, in a contraceptive society which has emphasized monetary success and personal pleasure and has downplayed the importance of family, some people simply say, “Uh… no thanks.”

Pope John Paul II, in his Wednesday Catecheses in St. Peter’s Square between September 1979 and November 1984, presented a series of messages which he titled “Human Love in the Divine Plan” or “The Redemption of the Body and the Sacramentality of Marriage.” More recently, the collected teachings have become known as “The Theology of the Body.”

What Blessed John Paul offered was a compelling, positive proclamation of the Gospel in response to a sexual revolution that has resulted in the degradation of both human love and sexuality.

The Youngs’ publicity stunt on the rooftop shines the spotlight on the unitive purpose of marriage.  It falls far short of recognizing the second of God’s intended purposes for marriage, the procreative.

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