Why I Love Religion, and Love Jesus

BXVI: "it is imperative that the entire Catholic community in the US come to realize the grave threats to the Church’s public moral witness"

From the Holy Father's address to the US bishops today in Rome on their ad limina visit:

"Dear Brother Bishops,
...

"For her part, the Church in the United States is called, in season and out of season, to proclaim a Gospel which not only proposes unchanging moral truths but proposes them precisely as the key to human happiness and social prospering (cf. Gaudium et Spes, 10). To the extent that some current cultural trends contain elements that would curtail the proclamation of these truths, whether constricting it within the limits of a merely scientific rationality, or suppressing it in the name of political power or majority rule, they represent a threat not just to Christian faith, but also to humanity itself and to the deepest truth about our being and ultimate vocation, our relationship to God. When a culture attempts to suppress the dimension of ultimate mystery, and to close the doors to transcendent truth, it inevitably becomes impoverished and falls prey, as the late Pope John Paul II so clearly saw, to reductionist and totalitarian readings of the human person and the nature of society.

"With her long tradition of respect for the right relationship between faith and reason, the Church has a critical role to play in countering cultural currents which, on the basis of an extreme individualism, seek to promote notions of freedom detached from moral truth. Our tradition does not speak from blind faith, but from a rational perspective which links our commitment to building an authentically just, humane and prosperous society to our ultimate assurance that the cosmos is possessed of an inner logic accessible to human reasoning. The Church’s defense of a moral reasoning based on the natural law is grounded on her conviction that this law is not a threat to our freedom, but rather a “language” which enables us to understand ourselves and the truth of our being, and so to shape a more just and humane world. She thus proposes her moral teaching as a message not of constraint but of liberation, and as the basis for building a secure future.

"The Church’s witness, then, is of its nature public: she seeks to convince by proposing rational arguments in the public square. The legitimate separation of Church and State cannot be taken to mean that the Church must be silent on certain issues, nor that the State may choose not to engage, or be engaged by, the voices of committed believers in determining the values which will shape the future of the nation.

"In the light of these considerations, it is imperative that the entire Catholic community in the United States come to realize the grave threats to the Church’s public moral witness presented by a radical secularism which finds increasing expression in the political and cultural spheres. The seriousness of these threats needs to be clearly appreciated at every level of ecclesial life. Of particular concern are certain attempts being made to limit that most cherished of American freedoms, the freedom of religion. Many of you have pointed out that concerted efforts have been made to deny the right of conscientious objection on the part of Catholic individuals and institutions with regard to cooperation in intrinsically evil practices. Others have spoken to me of a worrying tendency to reduce religious freedom to mere freedom of worship without guarantees of respect for freedom of conscience.

"Here once more we see the need for an engaged, articulate and well-formed Catholic laity endowed with a strong critical sense vis-à-vis the dominant culture and with the courage to counter a reductive secularism which would delegitimize the Church’s participation in public debate about the issues which are determining the future of American society. The preparation of committed lay leaders and the presentation of a convincing articulation of the Christian vision of man and society remain a primary task of the Church in your country; as essential components of the new evangelization, these concerns must shape the vision and goals of catechetical programs at every level."

Read the entire address to the US Bishops at this link.

Un peu de Paris

We stayed at a religious house near the Arc de Triomphe. The weather was mild although we had frequent rain. I ran from our rooms to the Isle de la Cite' and back one evening, about 3 miles distance. The Champs Elysee was wall to wall people so I ran in the street facing traffic in order to keep moving.

This photo taken inside La Sainte-Chapelle gives an idea of the way the windows bathe the interior in light, essential to the Gothic genius. The windows together comprise the largest in-situ collection of 13th century Gothic stained glass in the world.

The windows illustrate the Scriptures for the benefit of a largely illiterate populace.

The baldacchino stood over the altar removed during the revolution.

A Christmas tree stands in the place of Notre Dame with crowds filling the square.

An off-beat door in Paris.

Paris avec Philippe

My friend Philip Johnson, pictured below, is a seminarian for the Diocese of Raleigh and invited me to join him for a Christmas voyage to France.

Philip studied French and spent some time studying in Paris so did a good job navigating the Metro as well as helping me learn how to make the nasal "tro" sound in "Metro". Takes a lot of practice but I think I've almost got it down. He had to put up with listening to me.

Our view of the roof and spire of La Sainte-Chapelle while we waited in the queue to enter. Louis IX built the masterpiece to house his relics of the Passion of Our Lord and, in particular the crown of thorns. I chatted with two Italian priests from Milano while we passed the time.

The exterior apse of the chapel is more beautiful than the facade. The chapel is the only remaining structure of Louis' palace.

Well, maybe not; you decide. The chapel is significant principally for its gothic windows, considered a masterpiece of the style designed to maximize the amount of light entering the structure and to make it seem almost as if the walls disappear, the roof of the chapel floating on light.

Two angels on the carved wood baldacchino over the sanctuary hold an image of the crown of thorns, central symbol of Christian devotion according to Louis' conception for the chapel. The furnishings do not remain as the chapel was partially destroyed during the demonic reign of terror in the French revolution.

The rose window. Nothing I could offer by way of description would do it justice. Just look and find out more about what the word "awe" can mean.

Come back soon for more of Paris and France.

Au revoir, mon amis!

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Agnostic Jew: "What is so terrifying and bizarre about the Catholic Church's teachings on the intrinsic beauty and sanctity of life, death and sex?

"I’m not Catholic. In fact, I’m an agnostic Jew who loves a nice ham and Swiss sandwich. But what, exactly, is so terrifying and bizarre about the Catholic Church’s teachings on the intrinsic beauty and sanctity of life, death and sex?"

From The Daily Caller

Contrary to popular belief, Rick Santorum is not “coming for your birth control.” The senator has explained that, although state governments have the power to pass laws banning contraceptive use, he is not interested in seeing these laws get on the books.

“It’s been clarified about oh, 150,000 times, so I’ll clarify 150,001,” Santorum said on Sunday afternoon in Greenville, South Carolina. “I’ve never said I wanted to ban birth control. I wouldn’t vote for it.”

A President Rick Santorum, however, would undoubtedly use the bully pulpit to talk to Americans about what he sees as the dangers of contraceptive use, just as Michelle Obama has used it to talk about the dangers of childhood obesity. As Santorum put it in October:

One of the things I will talk about, that no president has talked about before, is I think the dangers of contraception in this country. … It’s not okay. It’s a license to do things in a sexual realm that is counter to how things are supposed to be.

While I disagree with Santorum’s conclusion about birth control, is it really such an off-limits topic that the country couldn’t stand to have a little discussion about its pros and cons? Sure, 99% of sexually active American women either use or have used some form of birth control. But it is also undeniable that since the birth control pill’s invention a half-century ago, STDs have become more widespread and the number of unintended pregnancies has increased. Even a recent New York magazine cover story celebrating the anniversary of the pill acknowledged that it has helped create a group of women who, having put off pregnancy until their late thirties, spend thousands on various fertility treatments: “Inadvertently, indirectly, infertility has become the pill’s primary side effect.”

I’m not Catholic. In fact, I’m an agnostic Jew who loves a nice ham and Swiss sandwich. But what, exactly, is so terrifying and bizarre about the Catholic Church’s teachings on the intrinsic beauty and sanctity of life, death and sex? Rick Santorum is being derided for living his life in a way that respects his faith and its teachings, but his example is an admirable exception in a culture that routinely treats sexuality as a consumable product. Liberals are always paranoid about Christian right-wingers who want to take away their condom Christmas trees and heap disapproval — horror of horrors — on their licentious lifestyles, but it is liberals who do not want to let the Santorums, and their lifestyle choices, just be.

Inez Feltscher has a philosophy BA from UCSD, where she was chairwoman of the College Republicans and an editor of the conservative newspaper on campus.

Source: The Daily Caller.

600th Anniversary of the Birth of Joan of Arc

Recommended reading

On the 600th anniversary of the birth of the "Maid" I had the privilege of visiting the site of her martyrdom at Rouen.

I recommend this book as especially worthy of your attention. Regine Pernoud, an eminent historian, began her task of researching this book as an unbelieving skeptic and, after exhaustive examination of the records of the French archives became a convinced and ardent advocate of the sterling integrity and authentic heroism of Sainte Jeanne d'Arc.

Beautifully written and an impeccable history. Purchasing information through Barnes and Noble available at this link.

Please check back at this blog in coming days for photos and information about St Joan and France.

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In Circumcisione Domini: Solemn High Mass in Montmirail, France

I had the joy through the kindness of our French friend Dom Hugues Beaugrand, of the Institute of the Good Shepherd, and Philip Gerard Johnson, seminarian of the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina, and blogger at In Caritate Non Ficta, to celebrate Solemn High Mass at Montmirail, France on January 1, 2012, on the occasion of the Feast of the Circumcision of the Lord.

"Introibo ad Altare Dei": procession to the sanctuary with, at left, Dom Beaugrand, IBP, and right, Philip Johnson.

Diane and Sophie receive their first holy Communion at the Mass.

Photos thanks to the kindness of Philip Johnson.