"There are fiscally responsible ways by which we can reform healthcare and
expand quality coverage that do not involve the forcing of unfunded and
unprecedented mandates onto individuals and states, and the unsustainable
growing of our national debt."
--Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell
The truth must always be told. It should be told boldly, accurately, and as
simply as possible. This is the everyday practice of those who truly love.
--George Gil, Problems in the Church #1, p. 5
Jerry Fowler and Mark Lotwis of the Save Darfur Coalition recently traveled to Sudan to observe the humanitarian situation in this war-torn country. Here are some snippets from their firsthand report, issued yesterday.IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons] named security as their number one concern. Many complained of being subject to violence when leaving camps — not just women risking rape but both men and women being attacked when they go to the market or work in the cities. We often heard descriptions of the most recent attacks and that this violence was on the rise, not decline.
Despite Sudanese government claims that IDPs were returning to their villages in large numbers, we found little evidence of this. While there may be some returns and some seasonal migration to farm, IDPs said the main reason they cannot return home is because of a lack of security, and in some cases because other people were occupying the land they once lived on. One leader said, "When we can travel for two days without being attacked, we will go with no one telling us."
While distribution of food aid has been picked up by the World Food Programme and some new partners, provision of adequate water supplies appeared to be moreproblematic, exacerbated by poor rains last year. At one camp, water was shut down at noon, and hand pumps were broken. In multiple camps we visited, people lined up for water, with rows and rows of empty jugs waiting to be filled. We saw unsanitary conditions around some pumps where spilled water runs off and mixes with animal waste — and children run around in bare feet.
We asked IDPs what they thought about the upcoming elections. The overwhelming majority of IDPs said they did not register and therefore will be disenfranchised in the election. Some said they didn't bother because "we don't have real representatives to vote for," while others feel that free political conditions do not exist. The ongoing state of emergency and level of violence leave doubts about a safe environment for candidates and voters in Darfur. When asked whether he feared for his life, one tribal leader told us, "I lost my family, I lost my country, I may lose my life." But he was resolved to carry on advocating for a just and lasting peace.
I hope all Americans of goodwill are just as resolved to continue working for peace in Darfur.
Indiana Senator Evan Bayh becomes the fourth Democrat to jump off the sinking ship of his party. The major media outlets are portraying Senator Bayh as an honorable statesman who has become the victim of political infighting in Washington, D.C. In fact, he has been trying to implement the same unpopular agenda as most of his fellow Senate Democrats. You can get the truth of the matter by reading my article, "Evan Bayh and the Democratic Strategy."
Here's a Lenten message from Father John Corapi:I want to extend to each and every one of you wishes for the most blessed and grace filled Lent of your life.
In many ways Lent is like life itself—a preparation for something higher and greater; a journey to an ultimate destination that “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered into the mind of man what God has in store for those who love him.”
Even Jesus prepared for his public ministry by going into the desert, with all of its privations and dangers. We need to prepare for our meeting face to face with God, and that preparation should start sooner, rather than later. In fact,
Lent—this Lent—is the best time to begin. Don’t put it off!
In order to help you to do this, we are offering a collection of our most popular DVD
singles that we feel most fit into the theme of Lent. I realize that the economy is not good for many of us, and many individuals and families are feeling the financial pinch. To help to do our part as best we can financially, we are offering this collection of single DVDs at a significant savings. The everyday retail price of these single DVDs is $90.00 ($15.00 each), when purchased individually.
For a limited time we are offering The Lenten Power Pack for $49. This is an average cost of $8.17 each for the 6 single DVDs.
The titles in this offer are:
1. Personal Testimony—My own life story of how God’s grace and mercy are so infinitely greater than our sins and human weaknesses. No one need lose hope, for God’s Name truly is Mercy.
2. Humility—Humility is truly the foundational and essential virtue. In order to repent and believe in the Gospel, humility is absolutely essential. Humility is the simple acknowledgment of truth—the truth concerning who God is and who I am. No humility, no holiness, no holiness no Heaven. Humility is the only way to begin Lent, and to live a truly Christian and Catholic life.
3. How To Make a Good Confession—As Catholics we can talk all we want about repentance, but the only ordinary means of the forgiveness of serious sins after Baptism that the Church knows of is the sacrament of Penance, or Reconciliation. This presentation will help you to make a good confession, whether you do it every week, or haven’t done it in fifty years.
4. Repent and Believe in the Gospel—The basic theme of all of the prophets, and ultimately Jesus Christ himself, was and is: “Repent! The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” God’s mercy is a lot bigger than our sins, no matter how many or horrible they may be. Nonetheless, in order to receive God’s mercy and forgiveness we have to repent of our sins. To fail or refuse to do this is to refuse God’s mercy.
5. Penance, Penance, Penance!—The need for penance and sacrifice has been dangerously downplayed in recent times. This is not rocket science: No penance,
no spiritual or moral power; no pain, no gain; no cross, no crown. The greatest
form of penance is to accept joyfully and daily the trials and tribulations that go with our state in life. Easy to say, hard to do. Nonetheless, let’s take a look at this.
6. The Power of the Cross of Christ—“The Cross is the crossroads where all roads cross.” This is one of my favorite lines from my doctoral thesis in dogmatic theology. It translates into one of my Grandmother’s favorite sayings: “Offer it up!” There is quite simply no Easter Sunday morning victory without the pain and darkness of Good Friday, and, as Jesus reminds us, “The servant is no better than his Master.”
May God grant you every grace and blessing to overcome the trials of Lent and of life, and to hear those beautiful words at the end, “Well done, my good and faithful servant, now at last enter into the joy of your Master’s house.”
God bless you,
Fr. John Corapi, SOLT, STD
I have seen most if not all of the talks in this series, and can warmly recommend this new compilation. I can highly recommend numbers 1, 4 and 6 in particular.
What an amazing talent God has given this young man. I'll never forget the experience I had three years ago this month of hearing Josh Groban live in concert on the Awake tour. He performed for two hours, and his voice was awesome. He sang "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)," "February Song," "Awake" (the title track), "You Raised Me Up," and many others. Also, it was a real treat for me to see Josh play piano while singing "February Song," "Awake" and several of the other songs. There were about ten thousand people in attendance, which meant that most available seats in the multi-level arena were filled. I was sitting with my parents and sister in the top level, directly facing the right side of the stage from my perspective, and about five stories above Josh. Although this position gave us an excellent view of the stage, it also gave me the willies. I remained uncomfortable in this perch thruout the concert but managed to enjoy myself nonetheless.Josh and some of the biggest stars in the music industry gathered in
Hollywood Monday, the day after the Grammys, for an even bigger occasion: to
record a new version of “We Are the World.” Proceeds from the song will go to
benefit Haiti in the wake of that country’s devastating earthquake, as well as
mark the 25th anniversary of the original collaboration.
Josh tweeted yesterday, "Just sang my heart out for 5 hours...This is a
group performance that people will remember forever." The new single will
premiere February 12th on NBC during the opening ceremonies of the Winter
Olympics. Visit Entertainment Weekly for more details. Look for more information on the song coming soon!
Our nation's record budget deficits are in the news lately. President Obama has projected an unheard-of $1.56 trillion deficit for fiscal year 2010, and the United States of America is now dragging with it a total national debt in excess of $12 trillion dollars. It is amazing to think that just thirty years ago, in 1981 when President Ronald Reagan took office, the entire national debt stood at "only" $900 billion. The whole debt amount currently projected for this year alone, $1.56 trillion, is equivalent to our nation's total debt figure in 1984.
Massachu- setts electorate. Mrs. Coakley also stood for President Obama's healthcare reform plan, which has no conscience protections for pro-life medical professionals and would tax individuals who do not have "acceptable" health care coverage as defined by the government. Among Massachusetts voters, even many Democrats could not tolerate such measures.
There are many reasons for the landslide opposition of the American people to Democrat- ic healthcare reform. One is its gigantic $2.3 trillion price tag, which comes at a time when our national debt is already $13 trillion and most Americans are hurting financially due to the effects of a Great Recession. They do not trust the smooth promises of their Democratic politicians that the healthcare reform bills currently on the table will make health care more affordable and accessible for all Americans. They realize that, far from increasing the healthcare options available to them and bringing down healthcare costs, the new system will create a giant new government bureaucracy, funded by unprecedented income tax hikes, devoted to its subjects' healthcare a la Communist Russia, requiring the participation of all American citizens under penalty of yet more taxes. The image of Democrats as "tax-and spenders" has reared its ugly head to a whole new level at a time when average Americans are already crushed by their income tax burdens. If the economy is to recover, Americans must have money to spend, and they will not have such money if it is annually depleted by excessive taxes.
Although media attention to Haiti has waned and relief programs are now well underway, the situation is still very difficult for millions of homeless people in this impoverished Carribean island nation. It will take years for them to recover and rebuild their country. Moreover, the situation is complicated by a corrupt, evil government that has protected its own wealth while leaving the national economy in tatters. We need to pray especially for the Catholic Church in Haiti, which lost its archbishop and hundreds of priests, seminarians, monks and nuns in the tragic earthquake on January 12. Let us pray that the Lord will help the suffering people of Haiti to rebuild their country; that He will turn the hearts of their leaders away from sin and self-aggrandizement so that they will promote sound economic development for the common good of all Haitians; that the human rights and God-given dignity of all the people will be respected; and that the citizens of Haiti will experience true freedom, security and peace.
This is a hopeful yet critical year for Sudan. The country's first presidential elections since 1986 will be held this coming April. Unfortunately, the conditions for a free and fair election do not exist in Sudan right now. Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir is forbidding political opponents from organizing public rallies; arresting and imprisoning hundreds of dissidents; and arresting and beating journalists who report these incidents. Bashir is taking every possible measure to ensure his re-election against the wishes of the people of Sudan. Why? Because Bashir is a corrupt and murderous leader--and if a free and fair election were held in his country, Bashir would be voted out of office. During the past seven years, Arab Janjaweed militias--armed and funded by Bashir's regime--have carried out a systematic extermination program of the non-Arab inhabitants in Sudan's large western region of Darfur, killing upwards of 500,000 innocent people. This far exceeds the estimated 150,000 people killed by Saddam Hussein between 1983 and 1991. And while the International Criminal Court has filed charges of war crimes against Omar al-Bashir and issued an arrest warrant for his capture, the United States has taken little tangible action to help stop the genocide.
Let us work, then, for justice in the world, so that the nations of the earth will be moved to draw back from ominous arms races and unbalanced concentration on the tools of war, from the terrifying proliferation of nuclear weapons and from senseless quarrels and insane hatreds. Let us turn our united efforts instead to true human development throughout our world and to the betterment of all our brothers. Let us pray on this night, Christmas Eve, that all the nations of the earth may turn away from the ever present sounds of conflict and hear the angel's clear invitation to peace through love of God and neighbor.--Cardinal Terence Cooke
(1921-1983)
On Tuesday, December 3, I received the following communique from the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights:5. Pope Benedict XVI releases his first social encyclical, Caritas in Veritate. (July 7)
Lastly, and the biggest of all:
6. The United States House of representatives amends H.R. 3200 (America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009) to prohibit the use of federal taxpayer funds for "abortion coverage" and to reaffirm longstanding federal laws that protect the conscience rights of physicians and other health care professionals who object to conducting or participating in abortions. (November 7)
Okay, I have some stuff to catch up on here. Good news! One year after the smashing electoral victory that sent Illinois Senator Barack Obama to the White House with such power and glory, a few state elections held earlier this month (on November 3) seem to hint that the process of recovery has already begun for Republicans. In Virginia, Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob McDonnell defeated Democratic contender Creigh Deeds by a landslide, winning 59 percent of the vote to Deeds' 41 percent. McDonnell will replace the state's Democratic incumbent governor Tim Kaine. In 2008 a big deal was made of the fact that President Obama cruised to a win in Virginia, making it a "blue state" for the first time in thirty years. However, the magic of Obama seems to be losing its power. Twice this year, the president visited Virginia to publicly demonstrate his support for Deeds and urged Virginians to vote for him. Such efforts were ultimately fruitless. However, this Republican comeback was considered fairly predictable in a state that has been traditionally red for decades, and because of that it still counted as only a minor setback for President Obama.
Fall is now one of my favorite seasons. There is something magical about the cool dry weather, the gentle slanting sunshine, the deep blue sky, and the brilliant colors adorning the trees that invites contemplation in a way that the piercing overhead sun, stifling humidity, and solid green of summer simply cannot. It is true that summertime is generally considered the ultimate season for relaxation; it is certainly the time when travel and outdoor activities are at their peak, while many people are enjoying a well-deserved break from work and school activities. However, if I am not mistaken, oftentimes summer can degenerate from a healthy period of recreation and refreshment into a mirror of the rest of the frenetic working year; people try to cram all the sports, vacations, family picnics, scenic drives, gardening, summer programs, and garage sales they can in between weddings and holidays during the three months of warm weather, only to find themselves exhausted as they return to their regular work schedule. This reminds me with a chuckle of a quotation from columnist Russell Baker in Back to Basics: "Leisure pastime in this country has become so complicated that it is now hard work....We are not far from the time when a man after a hard weekend of leisure will go thankfully off to his job to unwind."Undoubtedly, one of the most important events of this year was the long-anticipated release of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI's third encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth). This is the first social encyclical to emanate from the Vatican since Pope John Paul II published Sollicitudo Rei Socialis in 1987. Pope Benedict's first encyclical, Deus Caritas Est (God Is Love), drafted by John Paul II a few months before his death, had been completed and released in December 2005 within the first year of the new pontificate. Two years later in November 2007, Pope Benedict had issued his second encyclical, the first written entirely by him, Spe Salvi (Saved by Hope). This led some observers at that time to wonder whether a reverse pattern of the theological virtues was being set: with the new pope's first encyclical on love and a second about hope, would the third deal with faith? The late Father Richard John Neuhaus said in an EWTN interview with Raymond Arroyo that he did not think this would be the case. Although Father Neuhaus did not live to see the release of our present Holy Father's third encyclical, it turned out that he was correct.
Early in 2007, Vatican sources informed the press that Pope Benedict XVI had begun working on his second and third encyclicals. The topics of these documents engendered various surmises ranging from marriage and family life to religious fundamentalism--areas in which His Holiness was devoting considerable energy at the time. Meanwhile, curial officials close to the Pope soon confirmed that the third encyclical letter would apply Catholic social teaching to globalization and poverty. A cardinal in Rome also made clear in the summer of 2007 that His Holiness was not in a rush to write and release this particular document, but that because of the complexity of the subject matter, the Pope was devoting much time to prayer and study as he drafted the piece.
Indeed, I am glad that the Holy Father took his time in preparing this document, to ensure that it would carefully address all of the modern interrelated global social issues. To synthesize these multifarious issues into a coherent perspective would be a challenging task for anyone given the interdisciplinary nature of the subject. Yet in Caritas in Veritate, our Holy Father has aptly set globalization and its effects within the clear perspective of Catholic social doctrine. Furthermore, in a few concise lines he has laid out for the Church of this era the theological basis for Catholic social teaching, in itself an invaluable treasure. With this landmark encyclical, Pope Benedict has accomplished even more: in a simple, orderly fashion, he has placed social teaching and issues within the context of love and truth, faith and reason, life, marriage and the family. Indeed, there is hardly a single aspect of the Catholic faith that is not woven into this beautiful tapestry. Caritas in Veritate is like the key to a code or the instruction manual of a celestial telescope kit in which the Holy Father shows how everything fits together and works. It is a long document, but to the point and jam-packed with information. As a papal encyclical, it presents the infallible magisterium of the Church on a subject of hard-to-exaggerate significance; as a work of theology, it is a distillation of Joseph Ratzinger's theological riches mined over the past sixty years; as a rationally sound philisophical treatise, it offers one of the finest examples of our Holy Father's intellectual giftedness; as a blueprint for the Church's social mission in the twenty-first century, it offers not just theoretical groundwork for the hierarchy but practical tips for the laity; as a letter from a spiritual father to his children, it is touched with the childlike humility and charming graciousness for which Pope Benedict has come to be known; as a work of literature, it must surely rank among the great classics of human history. Caritas in Veritate may have been long-awaited, but the wait was well worth it.
Public anticipation of this encyclical was certainly heightened by unstable economic conditions worldwide, leading to the economic crisis that struck the globe like an asteroid in 2008. Just as the United States nonchalantly reveled in its seeming indestructibility prior to 9/11, a widely accepted notion held that the new post-Cold War global economy was immune to recession and failure. In both cases, when the popular myth collapsed, people were left with a sense of disillusionment and started hunting for truthful answers to the question of "what went wrong." In the current case, Catholics and non-Catholics around the world expected that the new social encyclical in the works would have some answers regarding the shortcomings of our contemporary globalization system and how these flaws might be remedied. Thus they looked forward with respectful eagerness to whatever words of wisdom our Holy Father would impart on this complicated issue. Caritas in Veritate does not disappoint at all in this respect either, as we will see.
Critics of Pope Benedict (who are a phenomenon unto themselves, as they have no rational basis for their criticism) foretold that this encyclical would be chiefly a condemnation of Communism or unrestrained capitalism, or both. But these folks ought to know by now that scolding and reviling are not the trademarks of Benedict XVI. While taking accurate and forthright account of the major problems with the current system of globalization, Caritas in Veritate is primarily a positive document. It is an exciting document, because here for the first time we have a truly insightful and accurate analysis of the phenomenon of globalization, enlightened by the full splendor of the Catholic faith, together with a vision of the vast potential that worldwide interdependence has for building a true human family on the basis of charity in truth. It is nothing less than a new vision of globalization that Pope Benedict is presenting to the Church and the world.
The introductory paragraphs of the encyclical, numbers 1 through 9, constitute the solid foundation on which Pope Benedict builds his thesis. In these passages, the Holy Father defines charity and truth, and succinctly explains the link between the two. Both have their origin in God, Who is Eternal Love and Absolute Truth, and both are fully revealed in Jesus Christ. Thus "to defend the truth, to articulate it with humility and conviction, and to bear witness to it in life are... exacting and indispensable forms of charity" (no. 1). In paragraph 2, Pope Benedict says that charity "is the principle not only of micro-relationships (with friends, with family members or within small groups) but also of macro-relationships (social, economic and political ones)." In subsequent chapters of his encyclical, the Pope makes abundantly clear the importance of both the "micro-relationships" and the "macro-relationships" to human society, and that as Catholics we have a responsibility to promote charity and truth in both spheres. Charity and truth are two sides of the same coin: "Truth needs to be sought, found and expressed within the 'economy' of charity," says His Holiness, "but charity in its turn needs to be understood, confirmed and practised in the light of truth." Furthermore, this light is lit by both reason and faith (no. 3). In paragraph 5 the Holy Father defines charity as "love received and given" (note the order of the words: love is first received from God and then given to others), and then points out that this dynamic of charity gives rise to the Church's social teaching, "which is caritas in veritate in re sociali: the proclamation of the truth of Christ's love in society."
In paragraphs 6 and 7, Pope Benedict examines two of the criteria that govern moral action which are relevant to human development in our increasingly globalized society: justice and the common good, respectively. First he deals with the interconnection between charity and justice, noting that we cannot be charitable to others unless we are first just towards them. Moreover, he says that "justice is inseparable from charity, and intrinsic to it" (no. 6). The pontiff quotes Pope Paul VI in calling justice the "minimum measure" of charity. In other words, to give people the basic requirements of justice is not a separate issue from charity, but an integral part of it. Then he explains that besides the good of the individual person, there is the good linked to living in society, the common good. "To desire the common good and strive towards it is a requirement of justice and charity" (no. 7).
But how do we strive towards the common good? In these same two paragraphs, the Supreme Pontiff weaves his answer to this question into a beautiful "theology of the city." Here the Pope is using the word "city" to mean "human community," and he identifies charity and justice as essential ingredients in building this community. He says in number 6 that the earthly city is built up not merely by relationships of rights and duties (justice) but "by relationships of gratuitousness, mercy and communion" (love). Pope Benedict explains what striving for the common good means: "To take a stand for the common good is on the one hand to be solicitous for, and on the other hand to avail oneself of, that complex of institutions that give structure to the life of society, juridically, civilly, politically and culturally, making it the pólis, or “city” (no. 7). He says that every Christian is called to practice charity "in a manner corresponding to his vocation and according to the degree of influence he wields" in public life. He then adds: "This is the institutional path — we might also call it the political path — of charity, no less excellent and effective than the kind of charity which encounters the neighbour directly." Putting politics and charity together in the same breath might strike some people as odd, but after all the whole business of politics is to promote the common good. Here the pontiff also confirms the error of some misguided Catholics who have chosen to opt out of political life altogether, and he proclaims that active citizenship is a duty of charity. Thus the Pope echoes the Catholic bishops of the United States, who maintain that "responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation" (Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, no. 13). In an increasingly interconnected world, says our Holy Father, the concept of the common good and efforts to obtain it must be broadened in corresponding measure to embrace the entire human family, "that is to say, the community of peoples and nations." Pope Benedict goes on to say that "man's earthly activity, when inspired and sustained by charity, contributes to the building of the universal city of God" in unity and peace (no. 7); it is a prefigurement of the heavenly city, the ultimate goal of human existence.
(This article remains to be continued in a future post.)
The newsboys have been one of my favorite Christian pop/rock bands ever since I was introduced to their music in 2004. My family and I are relatively latecomer fans compared to the legions of music lovers who have been enjoying this group since the 1990s. Perhaps there are also a few Australians who remember the 'boys' independent first release on cassette tape in 1987, He's Coming Back, before they left for the States to sign their first record deal. It was the 1992 release of Not Ashamed on the Star Song label that catapulted the newsboys to fame in the Christian music world. A string of Dove Awards followed, and subsequent albums sold like hotcakes, with many number one hits such as "Shine," "Spirit Thing," "Beautiful Sound" and "Breakfast." In 2002, the year of their CD release Thrive, the newsboys were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Next year their first worship album, Adoration, was the third to top the Christian music charts. The favorably reviewed GO album of 2006 was followed by three national concert tours, all of which were very popular. During those tours, the newsboys released a compilation entitled The Greatest Hits. Continuing the theme of motion, in 2008 the band recorded and released a spectacular live concert DVD in Houston, Texas called Houston We Are GO. While I have not yet purchased this album, it is definitely on my list.
