Our Way of the
Cross
Reflections from the
Stabat Mater
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"Bless those who curse you"
Loving Our Enemies
How is this possible?
Christ does not ask us to bless those who curse us, or to love our enemies.
In strikingly clear terms, he commands us to:
"Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you.
Bless them that curse you, and pray for them that calumniate you"
(St. Luke 6.28)
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This is not an option for a Christian, it is the Lord's expressed will and desire that we should do so. But how ...?
There are, of course, people that we do not feel drawn to --- people, in fact, whom we do not like at all, and some whom we even dislike intensely. It is even the case that there are people whom we absolutely abhor (not hate ... which is quite different, and which has, with no equivocation whatever, no place in the heart of a Christian). Some people simply are, in fact, inexcusably intolerable. And yes ... some people are even virtually consumed with evil ... but Christ bids us no less to love them no less!
"What", you ask, "is this madness? How can I love whom I do not even like, and may even abhor?"
That, really, is the question at hand. How is it possible for us to love not only those we do not like, but even those who curse us, vitriolically hate us and wish us ... and if they could, would do us ... great evil?
continue ...
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The Exorcist: Priesthood at the Door of Darkness
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"When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the evil one and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism. Jesus performed exorcisms and from him the Church has received the power and office of exorcising. In a simple form exorcism is performed at the celebration of Baptism. In solemn exorcism, called a 'major' exorcism, can be performed only by a priest and with the permission of the bishop. The priest must proceed with prudence, strictly observing the rules established by the Church. Exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from demoniac possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to his Church. Illness, especially psychological illness, is a very different matter, treating this is the concern of medical science. Therefore before an exorcism is performed, it is important to ascertain that one is dealing with the presence of the evil one, and not an illness"
(from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. 1673.)
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We are fascinated with it, and there are some who would even wish to to be witness to it --- but the grim reality is that exorcism deals with dark and deadly things, things inimical to life and implacably hostile toward everything good --- especially toward the Exorcist and any present with him. In short, it is a grim affair fraught with peril to all involved.
The Roman Rite, or the Rite of Exorcism as it is formally called, is an extremely dangerous ministry that has been carefully entrusted to specifically appointed priests within the Church. It is not, Holy Mother Church insists, something that laymen should tamper with, nor even priests without specific training, special credentials, and deeply personal sanctity. Indeed, any attempt at exorcism is expressly forbidden --- and for good reason, as we shall see. It is well to soberly reflect upon the perils which these special priests confront and the frightening realities to which they are exposed. The confrontation with evil is very real, and anyone dismissing it as outdated and "pre-enlightened" is not just sadly but very dangerously mistaken. As we see in the citation above, the Church is extremely careful to distinguish between psychological abnormalities amenable to medical science, and the phenomena of demonic possession and demonic obsession (yes, there is more than just one menacing face of the persona of evil). Evil --- that is to say, evil of a demonic and personal nature --- exists and constantly strives not simply to perpetuate itself, but to metastasize to anything and everything to which it remotely tangent either through its own native efforts or through the folly or effrontery of men. It seeks, above all else, the ultimate trespass: upon the domain of the human soul.
The Exorcist is entrusted with this sole commission: to challenge the evil, and to liberate the afflicted person from its crippling, and often devastating effects. The danger he confronts lies in what is effectively a dual effort to expropriate and reappropriate --- that is to say, to expropriate from the devil, and to re-appropriate for God. satan does not readily relinquish what he has taken to be his possession --- except under holy duress. The Exorcist, duly empowered by the Church, and prompted by his deep love of Jesus Christ and zealous for the salvation of souls, determines to do both: to deprive the devil and to return what was violated to God.
By his very involvement, his absolute and unremitting contention with powers and principalities, the priest himself is placed in a vulnerable, volatile, and extremely dangerous situation. His very presence (because he is an alter Christus, "another" Christ, and acts in Personna Christ, in the Person of Christ) will antagonize the evil, and his actions and prayers will often elicit a violent response. For this reason the tremendous conflict must be approached with maturity, fasting and prayer, and a supportive group of those who hold him up to God in prayer. He stands at the door of Darkness itself ... an image of the Light.
continue ...
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Letters of a Soul
to Blessed Angela of Foligno
A Special Series
Beginning Sept ember 03, 2008
The following is the beginning of a series of letters written to Blessed Angela of Foligno, a 13th century Mystic described in the Catholic Encyclopedia as follows: "[Bl. Angela of Foligno was an] Umbrian penitent and
mystical writer. She was born at Foligno in
Umbria, in 1248, of a
rich family; died 4 January, 1309.
Married at an early age, she loved the world and its pleasures and, worse still, forgetful of her dignity and duties as wife and mother, fell into sin and led a disorderly
life. But God, having in His mercy
inspired her with a deep sorrow for her sins, led her little by little to the height of
perfection and to the understanding of the
deepest
mysteries." Mansueta is a middle -age woman living in Umbria. Translation by the Boston Catholic Journal.
Dearest 'Lella'
I would like you to know how much I am enjoying reading and praying over your writings, they have so much to say to me about God, thank you! Thank you for taking the time to have written down the experiences of your life and spiritual journey. Brother Arnaldo made a good job of it all.
I have only just begun reading your Memorial and I would so like to discuss with you some of the things you have written about. Would you mind? Oh, I know that you will not speak into my ear ... but in my heart, and I will listen carefully. Somehow, I am confident that I will know your voice, that my heart will understand what my ears fail to hear. In fact, in some ways I know you ... even before I knew of you. I know that you will understand.
I like your style, Lella; you tell us that you went step by step, even though we are like impetuous children who would like to run head-on to the finishing line, but, dear me, it seems that we simply have to go, as you did, step by step, and even then, poor head that I have, how often I have fallen flat on my face!
continue ...
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Pope Benedict
XVI
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