Messages and Letters From the Bishop
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List of Messages and Letters on this page |
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Bishop's homily for Christmas midnight Mass
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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
I join the priests and deacons in welcoming you to our annual Chrism Mass. Welcome to all of you, particularly those who come from the farthest parts of the Diocese. Some of you have traveled many hours to be here. Thank God that you, unlike me, are good drivers.
We gather this evening to honour our priests. We gather to honour their dedication, their commitment, their zeal and pastoral ingenuities in the life of our parishes.
I thank the Knights of Columbus for offering the dinner for us priests just a while ago. This is a tangible sign of appreciation for our priests. Thank you, dear brother Knights.
I also wish to acknowledge the presence of our seminarians who are participating in this important event in the sacramental life of the Diocese. They had lunch in the Chancery Office today. I had a chance to show them how to cook. Many of our priests don’t have anyone to cook for them so I need to teach the younger ones this skill.
This Mass takes its name from the blessing of the Chrism and the other Holy Oils. After they have been blessed, you will take them back to your parishes so that they may be used in the celebrations of the various Sacraments during the year.
You will also be witnesses tonight as the Priests renew their promises of fidelity to the Church, the Roman Pontiff and their Bishop. These are the same promises they made on the day of their ordination to the Priesthood. I remember making these same vows at my own ordination many years ago.
As we renew our priestly promises, we ask you, dear faithful friends, to pray for us, that we may be true to the vocation we have received from Christ, and to the commitment we freely made on the day of our ordination, that is: to serve the people of God with humility and generosity, to be faithful to the message of Christ and to live a holy life so that we may be able to lead others to holiness.
The priesthood is an irreplaceable treasure in the Church. This is so, not because of administrative, cultural or educational needs, but because it is essentially united to the sacramental ministry of Christ, the great High Priest. The ordained Priest, as you well know, acts in persona Christi capitis, that is: in the person of Christ who is the Head, when he celebrates the Eucharist and the other Sacraments of salvation. The Eucharist, among all the seven sacraments, is worthy of special mention because it is the greatest gift of our Lord to his disciples and to the Church. As the Second Vatican Council taught, the Eucharist is the source and summit of the whole Christian life. It is a brightly burning sun, around which our spiritual lives, like planets, orbit. The other sacraments stem from the Eucharist and lead to it. So also the responsibility of teaching the gospel, guiding the faithful and counselling the distressed.
The celebration of this mystery will always be the prime function of the priest. He will truly celebrate the Eucharist, and he will do so with joy and enthusiasm, when he fully acknowledges that it is the source of spiritual nourishment for his own soul and for the souls of his people. Only the priest, empowered by the Holy Spirit, can make Christ sacramentally present at the Mass for the assembly of the brothers and sisters. Acting in the person of Christ, he takes in his weak and trembling hands a piece of bread and proclaims: “this is my body!” Whose body is it? Christ’s, certainly. Yet we priests – we do not stop being ourselves when we act in the person of Christ, and we, like all Christians, are called to be more and more Christ-like – we put a lot of ourselves into the Eucharistic action. When we say “this is my body,” we must realize that we are offering our own lives to the eternal Father as a sacrifice for the good of His children.
John Paul II, talking to a group of Italian Bishops once, reminded us of the need to be thankful to our priests. He said: I join you in addressing a great thank you to our priests, for their continual and often unseen dedication… I join you in asking them, in a fraternal spirit, to entrust themselves to the Lord and to walk with generosity and courage down the road that leads to sanctity. I join you in thanking our priests because, through their zeal and pastoral ministry, they bring comfort and sustenance to us bishops, as we travel the same road.
These words of the late Pope, expressing his thanks to the priests, are even more meaningful when we consider the many challenges our priests have to face today, and the burdens some of them have been bravely carrying for decades. First, it must be recognized that priests endure the same fears and worries that trouble all human beings – from fear of sickness and helplessness in old age to worry about the high price of gasoline (for, as Cardinal O'Connor said: "when Jesus became a priest he did not lose his divinity; when we become a priest we don't lose our humanity.") Secondly, priests face the same concerns as all Christians in general – including the struggle with distractions in prayer and all kinds of temptations and pride. Yet, in addition to all these, there are some burdens that affect priests in a unique way. For example, every priest knows he has a serious responsibility to:
A. carry the cross of service with generosity and enthusiasm and joy, without counting the cost;
B. to accept and live his celibacy with joy and spiritual enthusiasm;
C. to lead a lifestyle similar to that of the Master who chose to be poor, needy, rejected, humble, peaceful, patient, chaste and obedient, always ready to do the Father’s will;
D. Since many people say “What’s going to happen to the Church? The Church has to change; the Church is out of date.” The priest has to remind himself and his people that the Church is not a sinking boat, and that Jesus' team is the only winning team for us Christians.
E. He has the responsibility to be a genuine model and authentic witness, a man of God capable of practicing what he preaches;
F. to be a teacher united with the Holy Father and the bishop, keeping in mind what Pope Paul the VI said, talking to a group of seminarians: People today don't listen to teachers, priests or Bishops; they listen to witnesses. If they listen to a teacher, a priest or a Bishop, it is because that teacher, that priest or Bishop is a witness.
G. to be a holy man, capable of drawing others to a life of holiness.
H. The priest has to accept the challenge and frustration of not being able to please everybody and to be accepted by everybody; neither was Jesus. “Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven” (Mt. 5:11-12.)
These responsibilities would be difficult enough in the best of times, but these are not the best of times. The world today uses the wrong done by one priest to throw mud on the face of all priests. I think this is unfair! This kind of generalization is used only regarding the Church and the priests. Meanwhile, your hard work is often unappreciated and people from all sides may ask you to do more and more.
Dear brother priests, I am mentioning these things tonight not to make you feel worse than you already do. I say these things because I want you to know that your bishop is keenly aware of the difficulties you face. I know that the burden the Lord has given you – has given us! – is not an easy one. I too, when I was a parish priest like you, had experienced the same difficulties while bearing the same responsibilities. And now, as a Bishop, other difficulties and challenges have been added. But we are not alone with our burdens; the Lord is with us and we are with each other.
I am thankful to God, dear priests and faithful, because through your hard work, the diocese has made big strides: the reduction of the diocesan debt, a strong youth group, VEYO’s activities in co-operation with the parishes: SONfest, Stations of the Cross, last year’s Shroud of Tourin exhibit, Youth retreats, the presence in the diocese of six seminarians, the creation of a diocesan news paper, the Catholic Herald, the fact that a number of retired priests enjoy a peaceful and dignifying retirement status, etc…However, despite all these positive achievements and the great enthusiasm and evangelization successes of so many of you, it seems that for some people this is still not enough; the devil is angry at our successes and continues to stir us some destructive criticism, some nit-picking and nay-saying.
Dear priests, I wish to tell you this: After having done everything you possibly can and you are still criticised and misunderstood, rejoice and be glad, because you are authentic followers of our Master; they criticized him for doing good; no wonder if they criticize you too. I know and I proclaim to you that the Lord is faithful. He stands continually at your side and shares your sorrows and your struggles more than you ever realize.
Your greatest strength is in availing yourself of your role as celebrant of the various sacraments, especially the Eucharist. As you act in persona Christi capitis, you imitate the sanctifying power of the sacraments in your own life. And like all Christians, you can draw sustaining grace from the Holy Scriptures, which surround and permeate your every waking moment, thanks to the Liturgy of the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. Let the inspired Word of God inspire and console you. Listen again to the words of the prophet Isaiah from our First Reading, which I am going to paraphrase so that you can hear them speaking more directly to you:
The spirit of the Lord God is upon you
because the Lord has anointed you;
he has sent you to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the broken hearted,
to proclaim liberty to captives,
and release to prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour...
to comfort all who mourn...
He will give you a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning.
You are called priests of the Lord,
you are named ministers of our God.
He will faithfully give you your recompense,
and will make an everlasting covenant with you...
all who see you shall acknowledge
that you are a people the Lord has chosen and blessed.
Dear brother priests, I thank you for overcoming these and other challenges. I thank you for your faithfulness, especially in those times when you feel discouraged, disoriented, criticized, misunderstood — whenever the cross is heavy. I thank you for caring for the people of the Diocese and strengthening them. They have their sorrows and struggles too, and they draw strength from you, even when you might think you have little to give. You, priests of the Most High, you are doing tremendous work, for you are doing the work of God. I applaud you, and I invite you in the congregation to do the same if you agree with me.
At the beginning, I made passing mention of our seminarians, who are here with us tonight. You young men, though you are few in number, you are a great consolation to us old priests. Many of us are getting on in years and realize that our days are numbered; we wonder if our work is worthwhile because no one is willing to take over and carry on where we leave off. But your presence tells us that this way of thinking is wrong. You give us joy and hope; you confirm the very thing that God once whispered to each one of us: that the priesthood is worth pursuing; service through the priesthood is something to which we can dedicate our lives. I thank you for your unspoken message of encouragement.
And finally, dear lay people, dear faithful followers of Christ, I beg you to pray for your priests tonight as they rededicate themselves to their sacred ministry and give them your loving encouragement always. They will bring the Holy Oils back to your parish communities and celebrate the sacraments with and for you so that you and they together might have eternal life. Love your priests, as does the Lord. Thank you.
CHRISTMAS 2006 - MASS DURING THE NIGHT
St. Peter-in-Chains Cathedral
Dear friends in Christ. Merry Christmas to all.
We have come, late on this Holy Night, to meditate on the mystery of the Incarnation, on the mystery of God who became a man.
The words of the Prophet Isaiah lead us in our meditation:
“The people who walked in
darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness,
on them light has shone...
For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God” (Isaiah 9:2-4,6-7).
This wonderful feast of Christmas celebrates the entry of God into our human history. The Son of God was born in difficult circumstances, in a turbulent time. He was born poor and in a stable. Luke’s Gospel speaks to us of the personal drama of Mary and of the turmoil of Joseph. Clearly, God entered into the total reality of the human family, not just into the quiet and peaceful manger depicted on so many of our Christmas cards.
The world into which Jesus was born is a world we recognize. Daily we are reminded of the suffering of so many of our brothers and sisters who, like Mary and Joseph, were poor and refugees. Today they are found not only in the Holy Land, but also throughout the Middle East, Iraq, Afghanistan, and different parts of Africa, North Korea and in so many other places of our world. I think also of the suffering caused by the debt of the third world countries, which makes the poor poorer and the rich richer. Now, just as two thousand years ago, the poor are often at the mercy of the rich. There are no true riches without love or compassion.
In our own time, we rightly worry about global warming, environmental damage, nuclear proliferation and violence. In Canada, we are beset by seemingly intractable social, economic and political problems. Our world, like that of the Holy Family, is a world of turmoil and turbulence. It is a time of cultural subjectivism and relativism. There is a great confusion of values – for example, the diluting and rejection of the traditional family with its associated values based upon God’s design in creating man and woman in His own image and likeness. The recent same-sex debate has revealed deep divisions and great differences in the visions we have for the future of our country. We seem to be unable to find a political arrangement respectful of God’s design and guaranteeing respect and dignity to each and to all, while acknowledging a higher reality based upon Truth. Without God the dignity of the human person is cheapened and humanity suffers.
We should never forget that we are a people of hope. At Christmas we remember that through us, the baptized people of God, the Lord of Light, continues to embrace the world. As Church, we are called to identify with the suffering of those around us: with the Native peoples whose pain forces them to seek a new relationship with Canada; with the many unemployed and underemployed; with those on the East Coast who perilously depend on exhausted fisheries; with the farmers whose livelihood is disappearing; with the sick, the discouraged and the defeated. Our celebration of the birth of Jesus proclaims his life-giving presence among us: His Gospel call to wisdom, to courage, to generosity and to caring. Jesus’ birth was the beginning of a life, which led through the cross to the resurrection. As we continue His Incarnation, we are challenged to live generously with and for others, beginning with the most needy ones, so that our society and our world will be brought to new hope and new life.
No one can celebrate a genuine Christmas without being truly poor. The self-sufficient, the proud, those who, because they have everything, look down on others, those who have no need even of God, for them there will be no Christmas. Without poverty of spirit there can be no Christmas.
At each Christmas, as a fruit of our meditation, we should be able to recognize in the vulnerability of the Baby in the manger all our brothers and sisters in need: the mentally and physically challenged, the dying, the newborns who are not always welcome in this world, the frail and elderly, the single mothers, the unemployed, the refugees, the marginalized and the rejected. Let us see them when we look into the manger.
Although the world remains a dark and gloomy place, beset with many problems, it is not without hope and light. Let us listen once more to those great words of the Prophet Isaiah:
“The people who walked in
darkness
have seen a great light;
those who lived in a land of deep darkness,
on them light has shone...
For a child has been born for us,
a son given to us;
authority rests upon his shoulders;
and he is named
Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God.”
Christ the Lord has come into this dark world, our dark world, to bring a little light and to open our eyes. He has revealed the love of God for the lowly ones. He has also brought the good news of God's love for you. No matter what your struggles or your strengths; He has made the world a brighter place by being in it Himself and by putting us in it.
Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict reminds us that “the most perfect Christmas gift is the Son of God” given to us in the Incarnation and remaining with us as “our spiritual nourishment in the Eucharist, in order to transform the world from within, beginning with the human heart.”
May our celebration of Christmas, in our churches, with our families, among our friends, give us pause to recognize that we are not alone. At the heart of our festivities is the birth of Emmanuel: God-with-us!
My
sincere good wishes for a holy and happy Christmas to all.
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On Marriage in Canada, 2006
18 September 2006
Dear Faithful in Christ,
Current circumstances lead me to address you on the subject of
marriage. Our federal government resumes sitting in Ottawa today and in the near
future the issue of marriage will be addressed in the House of Commons. A vote
will be taken to determine if we, as a nation, should review this issue and
restore marriage to its traditional and proper definition.
Marriage is the union of a man and a woman for their mutual support and for the conceiving of children who can be brought up in the security of a family based on the stable life-long relationship of their parents. Marriage creates the setting for the domestic Church, where children will first learn about God and the blessings He has bestowed upon us. From marriage, through the family, flow love, charity and the basis of good citizenship dedicated to the common good. All great civilizations have had their beginnings and derived their strength from recognition of the key role of marriage and the family.
In June 2005, in contradiction to common sense and the experience of centuries, the Canadian government changed its definition of marriage from the union of a woman and a man to the union of two persons. The process by which this was done was flawed in a number of ways, not the least of which was the fact that our elected representatives were not allowed in all cases to vote in accordance with their consciences. This time, as Members of Parliament consider such a crucially important issue, their vote must be a free one.
I am, therefore, requesting that you contact your local MP and ask her or him to ensure that the vote is free and reflects the will of the people and also to urge her or him to vote in favour of re-opening the issue of the definition of marriage.
With prayerful best wishes,
Most Rev. Nicola De Angelis, c.f.i.c.
Bishop of Peterborough
P.S. Below are several samples of possible letters to your Member of Parliament. Letters should be polite, relatively short and make a clear request about the action you would like to see taken. Letters can be sent to any MP, postage free, at the following address:
House
of Commons
Ottawa
ON K1A 0A6
Sample one:
Dear (Name of MP)
I am writing to you to request that you support another debate on the definition of marriage.
When the definition was changed by Parliament in 2005, the vote in the House of Commons was not a free one. I and many others felt that, on such an important issue, it was more important that MP’s, after consultation with their constituents, follow their consciences rather than party dictates.
For that reason alone, I feel that we need to try to ensure a more democratic process through another debate. Please vote to reopen the debate on the nature of marriage.
Yours sincerely,
Sample two:
Dear (Name of MP)
I was very disappointed when Parliament changed the definition of marriage. I feel that very little attention was paid to the rights of children: their right to know both of their parents and, if at all possible, to live with them. I believe our children are now referred to as the “legal”, instead of the natural, children of some persons. Recently, we have had a judge rule that a child can have two mothers. Few of us foresaw such changes.
When the decision was made, the majority of the Canadian public was opposed to it. With some of the situations which have now developed, I feel that everyone would benefit by discussing the issue again.
I request you to vote that such a discussion take place and that Members of Parliament be allowed to vote freely in consultation with their constituents.
Yours sincerely
Sample three:
Dear (Name of MP)
I am writing to ask you to vote in favour of a new debate on the definition of marriage and to insist with your own party that there be a free vote for MP’s.
When the decision was made by Parliament to change the definition of marriage, many of us were convinced that the authentic voice some MP’s was not being heard, and even less so the voice of the Canadian people.
I believe that on an issue as fundamental as marriage, there should be a truly free vote for our elected representatives. I would ask you to do what you can to achieve that.
Yours sincerely,
Homily delivered by Most Rev Dr Nicolas De Angelis, Bishop of Peterborough, on the occasion of the Peterborough diocesan funeral Mass celebrated for Pope John Paul 11, 7th April, 2005 at St Peter-in-Chains Cathedral, Peterborough.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is presented in the Gospel today as the Good Shepherd, who knows each of us by name. Jesus loves us so much that he laid down his life for our sake. Every Christian is called to follow Jesus, who is the shepherd of our souls. He promises to provide us with green pastures to refresh and strengthen us in our earthly journey. The Gospel of John is appropriately called the Book of Glory or the Book of Signs, because it reveals the identity of Jesus as the Son of God who, through the mystery of his death and glorious Resurrection has saved us and glorified God. The Gospel of John also presents this beautiful image and assurance of what Jesus does in the life of Christians and in the Church. Jesus is our faithful and caring God, in whom we can put our faith and destiny. He promises to be with his Church even to the end of time.
In his infinite goodness and divine providence, he raises up in the Christian community, men and women of outstanding qualities, whom he uses as instruments to show us the way and lead us out of darkness into light. Jesus our Good Shepherd has provided for his Church for the last 26 years, a worthy shepherd in Pope John Paul 11. He was a man of vision and courage, a champion who fought for freedom and peace, who defended the cause of the poor and promoted dialogue among the Christian denominations and with people of other faiths. The Church and the whole world have been in mourning for the last one week, because of the death of Pope John Paul 11 who touched billions of lives all around the world. We have lost a holy Pope.
I am sure that all of us have memories of him. I cannot forget so easily my contact with him, when I was working in Rome from 1985-1992. In 1987, I was invited to see the Pope, along with two other superiors. The Pope was concerned about the condition of people suffering from HIV/AIDS and wanted hospices built in Rome and other parts of Italy, as well as in other countries for AIDS sufferers. When we were in his office, he instructed us one after the other on where these hospices are to be built. I remember him saying to me: “I want you to build a hospice for AIDS sufferers in Rome.” He didn’t say to me: “I would like you to…” When it comes to the condition of the poor and the suffering, the Pope often gave imperatives. This is because he believed that addressing the condition of the poor is an urgent and immediate need. I was personally moved, when few years later, he visited the hospice for AIDS sufferers, which in obedience to him, we built in Rome (La Storta). This was at a time when many people discriminated against people suffering from the disease. The Pope embraced each patient, prayed with them and spent time with each of them. He told them not to be afraid, because Jesus loved them. His example moved the hearts of many medical personnel and volunteers, who were afraid of touching the AIDS sufferers, to reach out to them. I think that central to Pope John Paul’s ministry is the message: Be not Afraid.
Pope John Paul taught the world that Jesus is the Good Shepherd who guides his people. Therefore we should not be afraid to face the future. We should not be afraid of one another. He called on men and women not to surrender their freedom to the works of our hand nor become slaves to pleasure and materialism. His outstanding theological contribution is the great body of teaching on human dignity. He believes that Christ reveals to each created person his or her noble calling to be a child of God. Already in his first encyclical, The Redeemer of Man, he taught that we have dignity because we are created by God and redeemed by Christ. Human dignity and liberation are the central focus of the Church’s proclamation. The realization that we are so loved by God that he gave his only Son to be our Redeemer, should fill us with gratitude, hope and courage expelling all fear and despondency. John Paul 11 taught that this human dignity is the basis of human rights. It is also the ground on which we should oppose oppressive regimes and defend the right of the poor and weak, women and children, the unborn, disabled and the dying. Freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, the sacredness of marriage, priestly and religious vocations stem from our human dignity, which moves us to offer our lives for the sake of others and to make our lives a gift unto God. Our dignity shines through when we make the right choices that conduce to the will of God. Our dignity is also reflected when we are able to accept his will at all times especially in moments of sadness, pain, illness and death. He has taught us especially through his own sickness and suffering, how to carry our Cross everyday and follow Christ.
We gather today to mourn this great disciple of Christ, who will go down in history as one of the greatest popes. Through his personal life and teaching, he has made a personal call to holiness to all Christians. He has left the Church and the entire world an enduring legacy, which will take many years to fully discover and understand. In life, he gathered many people to Christ; in death he has united the whole world in an act of love and unity, which has never been seen before. He has always said that the task of the Church and Christians in the new Millennium is to build a culture of life, which he calls the civilization of love. He sees this task as being entrusted in a special way to young people who are the signs of the new springtime for the recreation of the human spirit. He believes that the Church and the world will have no future unless the young people are filled with enthusiasm for life. He made it one of the cardinal objectives of his papacy to bring young people to Christ, who is the genuine newness that surpasses all human expectation. Through the now famous World Youth Day, he has touched millions of young people with the message of God’s love and the hope of a better future. Millions of young people all over the world have been drawn to him by his love and concern for them. John Paul 11 was the greatest magnet for the young people in our times. His connection with them was so deep and so strong that many of them speak of him with great affection as both father and friend.
John Paul 11 was also committed to ecumenical dialogue and world peace. We all remember the first gathering of leaders of world religions to Assisi in 1981 to pray for peace. In a special way, he reached out to all Christians. He prayed and worked for full and visible unity among all Christians. He saw his Petrine ministry as that of building up the Christian community in faith and communion. He was the first Pope to extend a hand of fellowship to Christians of other denominations to help him (and I quote) ‘to find a way of exercising the primacy which, while in no way renouncing what is essential to its mission, is nonetheless open to new situations.’ (Ut Unum Sint, 95).
We want to thank God for the gift of this Pope who was primarily a Pastor caring for the people of God in all their conditions. He did this in varying ways: a kiss on the tarmac in each new city he visited; a smile lit by love and certainty; a white robe, stained red by a would-be assassin’s bullet, and the public forgiveness that followed; a public apology to Jews and those who suffered through neglect or silence of Christians in the past; bringing down communism; a challenge to believe in God, to follow the highest calls of their hearts and to love, thrown down to prisoners and presidents, saints and sinners; a visit to a Mosque and a Synagogue; setting up a cable television and a website etc. He welcomed the communication revolution of the later part of the last century and respected and used the mass media to preach the Gospel to all nations. The world will miss him. God has blessed the Church and the world through his ministry.
The titles of his final writings
in the last couple of months should help comfort us as we mourn his death, and
give us courage as we face the future. He wrote an Apostolic Letter in October
titled ‘Stay with us Lord’ in which he asked the Church to look up to
Jesus as the One who wishes to stay with her amidst the challenges that face
Christians all over the world. In his last book, released in English this
January, titled Rise, Let us be on our Way- he uses the very words of
Jesus when he was about to give his life for our salvation. In this book, Pope
John Paul gave a last testimony to the Church and the world on the power of
Christ. He also seemed to be saying like a prophet that he was on his way to
God. I wish to conclude my reflection by making John Paul’s words in that book
my own: ‘let us go forth full of trust in Christ, he will accompany us as we
journey toward the goal that he alone knows.’ Pope John Paul 11 has gone to
Jesus the Good Shepherd whom he served so well. We pray in this Mass for the
repose of his gentle soul. May God also raise among us Good Shepherds for his
Church after the example of John Paul 11. May he give us also the grace every
day to follow Jesus, our Good Shepherd.
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Bishop’s Message: Easter 2005
“Why Priestly Celibacy”
As I go
around the Diocese, visiting Parish Communities, Mission Churches, Catholic
Schools, lay Catholic Groups and Movements, I am sometimes asked a variety of
questions such as, “In the Catholic Church, why don’t priests get married?” and
“Why are they forced to accept celibacy?” These and other questions are openly
and respectfully asked by good Catholic people who love the Church and their
priests.
The questions
occasionally seem motivated by four objections, namely, 1) by requiring
celibacy, the Latin Church limits peoples’ rights, 2) a married priesthood would
resolve the Church’s vocation problems, 3) a celibate priest is an outsider to
the world he is evangelizing, unable to understand the problems of married
people, and 4) renouncing marriage seems to imply a devaluation of marriage and
sexuality.
Before
addressing these points, I wish to share with you a personal event that took
place in the early 1970’s when I was a pastor of St. Sebastian’s Church in
Toronto. It was a Sunday morning in winter and I was shovelling snow in front of
the Church. A lady, coming to Mass, addressed me in a loud but friendly voice
saying, “Father Nick, thank God you didn’t get married!”
I stopped my
work and leaning on the shovel replied, “Mrs. So-and-so, why did you say that?
Do you think I would have been a bad husband?”
“For sure,”
she replied. “Your wife would have certainly divorced you, because you’re never
at home. All the parishioners know that you are out visiting families almost
every night, persuading them to send their children to Catholic schools.”
My dear
friends, this lady was a recent immigrant, a factory worker. She didn’t give me
the theological, spiritual or psychological reasons as to why a priest should be
free from the many responsibilities of having a family. But she provided simple
and practical reasons why a priest should not be married.
It goes
beyond the scope of this short article to give deep and exhaustive answers to
the above questions. I just wish to shed some light on the subject of celibacy
which can only be understood as a “gift from God,” and the founding will of
Christ. As our Holy Father writes, “Jesus…proposed the ideal of celibacy for the
new priesthood he was instituting.”
To say that
the Church’s requirement of celibacy for priests limits peoples’ rights has no
basis. Each candidate to the priesthood, at a mature age, makes a deliberate
free choice to become a priest. Each is conscious of the duty and the privilege
of consecrated celibacy. Moreover, a candidate to the priesthood does not
possess a right to be ordained. It is a gift that God gives to whom He pleases,
beyond the merits of each person. Whoever is chosen and accepts this gift also
accepts the discipline and conditions which go with it.
Regarding the
admission of married men to the priesthood as a solution to the lack of
vocations, it is interesting to look at the statistics we find in the Pontifical
Year Book 2005. In it we can see that, after a long slow decline, the overall
number of men studying for the priesthood has again been growing steadily over
the last ten years. This clearly shows that the Lord is still calling men to
follow Him in the priestly life and to a life of celibacy.
To say that
the celibate priest is an outsider to the world he is to evangelize is like
saying that Jesus, who lived a celibate life, was an outsider to the world. The
same could be said of great saints such as St. John Bosco, St. Vincent de Paul,
St. Camillus de Lellis, etc. These people were not outsiders to the world. They
were very much in the world and understood the needs and problems of the world
in an outstanding and heroic way.
All the names
I just noted were male names, because I am talking about priestly celibacy. I
could just as fittingly have mentioned the names of female saints who have been
outstanding witnesses of Christ during their lives.
Most of the
comments about celibacy could also pertain to virginity. Celibacy and virginity
have been with us from the very beginning of the Church. They are strong signs
offered to our world by the many men and women who follow the Master and try to
imitate him, who chose to live a poor and chaste life. Mother Teresa would tell
her Sisters that, through their consecrated life of poverty and chastity, they
are “called to sanctity,” that their mission is to “follow the Lamb wherever He
goes,” and to be “the first-fruits for God and for the Lamb” (Rev. 14:4).
The final
objection, ‘that renouncing marriage implies a devaluation of marriage,’ is
addressed by John Paul II in Familiaris Consortio, where he writes, “Marriage
and virginity or celibacy are two ways of expressing or living out the one
mystery of the covenant of God with His people.” The co-existence of these two
states is important because they strengthen and enhance each other. The
celibate’s fidelity to his vow is a model to the married couple’s fidelity to
each other. The faithful couple, in turn, become a model for the celibate.
As to the
matter of denigrating human sexuality, the noted Catholic theologian Von
Balthasar pointed out: “There is no ethic in the world in which matters of
chastity are less prudish …than the ethic of Jesus. Nowhere is there any trace
of antagonism towards the body. How could it be otherwise in a religion centered
on God’s coming in the flesh?” (Elucidations). In Familiaris Consortio, n. 16,
our Holy Father says, “In spite of having renounced physical fecundity, the
celibate person becomes spiritually fruitful, the father and mother of many.”
In a
nutshell, as we look at the positive aspects of celibacy, we could say that the
priest renounces marriage because he wants to employ all his spiritual, moral,
intellectual, psychological and physical energies for the kingdom of Christ and
his Church. Through celibacy the priest reaches a “fuller adhesion to Christ,” a
richer spiritual fruitfulness. Celibacy helps him to get closer to a life which
is more similar to the one which is to come and thus more exemplary for earthly
life. “The act of renunciation (of marriage) has a positive aspect in the total
dedication to the kingdom, which implies absolute devotion to God, who is
supremely loved and to the service of His kingdom” (F.C. n.16).
A few years
ago, His Eminence Cardinal Ambrozic wrote in The Catholic Register, “that
celibacy is a concrete protest…not easy and thus convincing, against the current
idealization, exploitation and constant abuse of sex.” A celibate clergy remains
fundamentally important in a world more and more agnostic and secularist. It is
able to afford to resist and thus stand as a “beacon of true freedom to
Christians and non-Christians alike.” Celibacy and virginity are given by God as
gifts for the service of the kingdom of Christ. They remind us of “God’s
infinite superiority over His creation.” The Cardinal goes on to say that,
“should celibacy cease to be obligatory, it will either disappear or lose its
sign-value” (Ambrozic, The Catholic Register, Priestly Celibacy is Revisited).
A priest,
through his celibacy, gives testimony of a deep, “nostalgia of God,” says the
theologian Amedeo Cencini, who advises the Holy See on the formation of
seminarians. He considers priestly celibacy as a gift received, “for the
edification of the community.” The celibate doesn’t merely talk about the life
to come. By giving up marriage and family, the celibate becomes a striking,
educational and salutary sign to everyone. Celibacy and virginity make reference
to the high dignity to which God has elevated each human being. They remind
everyone, as Cencini points out, that “in the heart of every man and woman there
is a place reserved for God, and that only the Eternal can dwell in it.”
Attention is often given, particularly by the sensation-hungry media, to cases
of ‘counter-witnessing’ of celibacy, either in words or in deeds.’ Events of
this nature are serious and cause great pastoral damage. They do not constitute,
I believe, a valid argument against the providential union of priesthood and
celibacy. The mistakes of some don’t invalidate the virtues of others. Celibacy
and virginity have been with us from the very beginning of the Church. I believe
that the foundation for a meaningful consecrated life of virginity or celibacy
has to be found in a deep spirituality. If a priest or a consecrated person is
not profoundly spiritual, he or she may end up in being a poor celibate.
John Paul II,
urging priests and consecrated people to achieve a “fuller adhesion to Christ,”
said, “Jesus …proposed an ideal of celibacy for the new priesthood He was
instituting.” Being a priest is not a ‘job’ but the investment of one’s whole
life, as it is clearly shown by the New Testament’s demand for total commitment.
Catholic theologian von Balthasar also said, “celibacy is more than a mere
symbol of the community’s oneness: together with the life commitment of Christ
the Shepherd, it ensures that this oneness will be built up efficiently” (New
Elucidations, pg. 202)
When the
Bishops of Canada gathered in Rome on November 1993, the Holy Father spoke about
priestly celibacy and said, “Bishops must courageously teach the fittingness of
linking this sign of contradiction with the ministerial priesthood.” He went on
to say that, “the Church, in her experience through the ages, has discerned with
growing clarity that priestly celibacy is not just a legal requirement imposed
as condition for ordination. It is profoundly connected with a man’s
configuration to Christ, the Good Shepherd and Spouse of the Church.”
It follows that the
nature of priestly celibacy is eschatological, Christological and
ecclesiological: Eschatological, as the sign of our future state;
Christological, because Christ chose to be celibate; Ecclesiological, as the
sign of the Church as the Bride of Christ.
***
Because it
soon will be Easter, it is good that we reflect upon God’s love for us, His
desire to truly dwell within us and the gift of the true abiding presence of His
Son in the Holy Eucharist which God provides through the sacred ministry of His
priests.
May the Risen
Lord make us capable of loving in the divine way, and of keeping alive in us the
nostalgia of God. And may we all find at Easter the necessary strength and
determination to keep in our hearts a special place reserved where God can
continue to dwell.
MAY YOU ALL HAVE A HAPPY EASTER
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BE NOT AFRAID FOR GOD IS WITH US!
I wish you all a Merry Christmas!
“Holy is this night. Let us all rejoice in the Lord, for our Saviour is born to the world. True peace has descended from heaven” (Entrance antiphon).
Let us rejoice and be glad, alleluia!
Why is there so much joy tonight? We rejoice because our Saviour has been born. This is why the Angel of the Lord said to the shepherd: “Do not be afraid. Listen, I bring you news of great joy, a joy to be shared by the whole people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2, 1-16).
Filled with this joy, the Angels sing: “Glory to God in the highest and peace to His people on earth”. We feel the enthusiasm to communicate to others this joy, inviting them to proclaim and sing with us: “Oh come all you nations, come let us adore Him”.
The Creator of the universe, of what we see and do not see, fell in love with us, human creatures, that He has created in his own image. In order to call us back to Himself, He sent his Son into the world. Jesus became “flesh and lived among us” (John 1:14).
The historic event of the Son of God who “became flesh”, is not merely an event which has its beginning and end in the past. It is an event of “today”. In God, indeed, according to the Catholic theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, “there is neither past nor present, only eternal Today, and this eternal Today becomes present in the temporal. This means not only that all the past, all that belongs to the Old Covenant, has always been the dawning of this Today, rather, it also means that, in God, … the eternal event can never become a matter of the past”. Von Balthasar goes on to say that the “Now” of God’s coming into the world is not new and relevant merely at each recurring Christmas celebration, rather, “there can be no moment of an ordinary day in which it is not a present reality”. The annual celebrations of Christmas remind us, forgetful people, that God’s arrival in history is always taking place right now.
So, we can say with joy and spiritual confidence that the Lord, who is always coming, is already with us. “He never departs in order to come again”. The reality of the Eucharist is a tangible example of his presence with us.
The Holy Father, announcing the Year of the Eucharist, in his letter “Mane Nobiscum Domine” (Remain with us, oh Lord), invites all Christians to meditate on the meaning of the Bread of Life and to deepen our awareness of God’s presence in our midst.
Therefore we can joyfully sing tonight: Emmanuel, Emmanuel, God with us… and wish each other Merry Christmas. But when can we say that it is really Christmas in our hearts and in our families? Here are some suggestions:
1. It is really Christmas when we celebrate not only Jesus’ birth, but also our birth from God who wants us to be a “new Creation” in Him.
2. It is really Christmas when we don’t let the secular celebrations of gifts and parties win our attention over our faith in God, who in Bethlehem came “to live in our midst”.
3. It is really Christmas when we are able to overcome evil with good; when we are able to go the extra mile and turn the other cheek.
4. It is really Christmas when “Emmanuel-God with us” invites us to be courageous in loving and forgiving our neighbor. As Mother Teresa said:
“If people offend you, you don’t hate them back. Those who
hate you don’t win, unless you hate them back. But if you
hate them back you lose. If you don’t hate, you always win”.
5. It is really Christmas when we are able to recognize in the vulnerability of the Baby in the manger, the vulnerability of all our brothers and sisters in need. I think of the sick in mind and body, the dying, the newborns who are not always welcomed in this world, the frail elderly people, the single mothers, the unemployed, the refugees, the marginalized and rejected of society.
6. My friends, it is really Christmas when we have the courage to turn away from sin in our life, once and for all, and become a “new creation”. Sin, indeed, throws us back to be an “old creation” again, it makes us to fall back into chaos, it forces us, to use another expression from von Balthasar, “to refuse the light that Christ brought to the world, and to choose darkness”. Sin, according to another Catholic theologian, Teilhard de Chardin, is to “cover up our selfishness and to wear a mask so that people don’t know who we really are”. That is what sin is.
Sin is always to prefer self to the other, to place one’s good above that of others. It is always a refusal to put God at the centre of life – to miss the mark.
Christmas is an opportunity for us to imitate the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Mary gave birth to Jesus and gave Him to the world. Following her example, we too are invited to give Jesus to the world; to learn the virtue of sharing our gifts, time and talents with others. How can we do this? Mother Teresa tells us: “Through the joyous witnessing of our life”; through practicing what we preach or living our faith.
Mary invites us, as the theologian Rene Laurentin says, to be “shining stars”, that is, to be good examples to others so that others too can come to know and meet Jesus her Son. Mary points to and leads us to Jesus; we too are called to show Jesus to the world. According to the constant teaching of John Paul II, “Jesus is the greatest gift that the world needs today”.
Dear friends, in the Bible Jesus is given a variety of names: He is called the Lamb of God, the Lord, the King of kings, the Righteous One, the Savior, the Prince of Peace, the Counselor and the Comforter.
Today, at Christmas, we call Him with another name: EMMANUEL, God with us.
I wish to conclude with the words of a song called EMMANUEL, written by Michael Card. The refrain says:
“Emmanuel, Emmanuel, Our God is with us. And if God is with us
who could stand against us? Our God is with us. Emmanuel, Emmanuel”.
And may “God with us” grant you the peace and joy of a Holy Christmas. Merry Christmas to all of you!
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Ash Wednesday, February 25, 2004
“COME TO THE WATER ALL YOU WHO
ARE THIRSTY…
COME TO ME…AND YOUR SOUL WILL LIVE” (Isaiah
55:1-3)
A
message from Bishop N. De Angelis, of Peterborough Diocese,
concerning the New Age spiritualities, on the occasion of Lent.
Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord: May the peace of Christ be with you all.
During the last couple of months I have received a number of letters from the faithful of various parishes who asked me to state the teaching of the Church regarding NEW AGE MOVEMENT.
I want to be careful and respectful when answering the many questions formulated in the letters, because this issue is very delicate and it may be misinterpreted. In not answering, however, I would fail to exercise my role as a Bishop: to Teach, to Sanctify and to Govern in union with the Holy Father and the Magisterium of the Church (Lumen Gentium 25). Indeed the people of God who are entrusted to the Bishop’s care, have a right to receive authentic and clear Catholic teaching.
I have read in the letters of the faithful expressions such as these: “Bishop, we are very disturbed by New Age Movement…it is becoming more and more visible in prayer meetings, in our Schools, in houses of prayer…This is not Catholic teaching…Please find time to investigate this problem which could open the door to many problems…We need true spiritual nourishment and are hungry for it…”
“Our Catholic Faith and spirituality does not need to be “enriched” by these antichristian practices which are promoted, most of the time and to our dismay, by people who should be faithful to the teaching of Christ. They are instead promoting agnosticism and pantheism. In doing so we believe that they do a disservice not only to the Church and society, but to themselves as well. …”
“You, Bishop De Angelis, have been appointed by our Holy Father as the Shepherd of our Diocese. Would you please look into some of these programs and put a stop to them? … Would you please tell us who has authority in the Catholic Church to teach in matters of Faith and Morals? …Would you please tell us who are these New Age people? Are they faithful to the teaching of the Church or have they abandoned the Church?”
Another letter comes from a well-informed, practicing Catholic who says: “During the many years of my academic and religious formation I learned that New Age, Yoga, Zen Buddhism movements are contrary and harmful to our Christian spirituality and that their theories and doctrines about God cannot be reconciled with our Christian faith. Can you Bishop tell me if I am right or wrong? If I am right shouldn’t you Bishop step in and stop those people who are promoting the spirituality or philosophy of these movements?..”
The letter goes on to say that “some of these people say that we have to live in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council which invites us to be open-minded in reaching out to the people of other faiths and traditions. Dear Bishop, these people, under the banner of Vatican II, and misusing the authority of Vatican II, are not promoting dialogue with other faiths; they are promoting instead spiritualities that are contrary to our Christian Faith. They themselves don’t even have a vague idea of the spiritual and ecclesial richness that the Second Vatican Council brought about. It is irresponsible to promote other religions and spiritualities since we don’t even know ours. Why don’t they promote, for example, Jesus-centered Christian spirituality, or the teaching and spirituality of our Holy Father Pope John Paul II who, in his book “Crossing the Threshold of Faith” (p.90) warns us, with regard to the “return of ancient gnostic ideas under the guise of the so-called New Age”, that “we cannot delude ourselves that this will lead toward a renewal of religion. It is only a new way of practicing gnosticism – that attitude of the Spirit that, in the name of a profound knowledge of God, results in distorting His Word and replacing it with purely human words”.
Another letter concludes by inviting me to speak up in the name of the Church; to clarify the issue for so many good people who are waiting for an answer from their Bishop.
These and many more questions that have been brought to my attention through a good number of letters and personal meetings with people, motivated me to write this message to all of you, with the hope that it might bear fruit, fruit that is rooted in our rich Christian spirituality and tradition.
Before offering some ideas on this subject, I wish to thank all the faithful who have written to me, those who spoke to me on the phone or in person, helping me understand the spiritual status of the Diocese. In this, like in many other cases, the input of lay people, in addition to that of the clergy, is invaluable. In thanking them I invite everybody else to feel free to express their opinions, particularly in writing letters. I assure you all that your letters and contacts with me will be kept in strict confidentiality. In doing so, together with the clergy, you help the Bishop in shepherding the Catholic faithful of the Diocese.
I wish I could be able to answer all the above questions, but I cannot, for lack of time and space. I invite you, however, to read the ninety page Vatican Document on New Age called “JESUS CHRIST THE BEARER OF THE WATER OF LIFE’. Representatives of four Vatican Commissions worked together to prepare this Document. It is clear that the Holy See saw the project as an opportunity to produce a sound and accurate document, reflecting the genuine understanding of the Church. The principal editors of this document are the Pontifical Councils of Culture and for Interreligious Dialogue, and it is published by the Libreria Editrice Vaticana.
In this short Church Document, to which I will refer as “Doc.” when quoting it, you will find exhaustive answers to the above questions and many more explanations presented with rigorous theological and scriptural method. Confident that you will read it, I will limit myself here to give you some short points and comments as an indication of what New Age is all about.
While not everything in the New Age is harmful, I am limiting myself to examining and pointing out the negative and dangerous elements, that can directly harm the life and faith of the believer.
If we try to give an overview to this movement, we see that New Age is not a religion. It is a very unstructured eclectic movement, “a syncretism of esoteric and secular elements” (Doc. 2.1.) that incorporates various experiences, beliefs and ideas from many different sources. We recognize in it the ancient Egyptian occult practices, Cabalism, early Christian gnosticism, Sufism, the lore of the Druids, Celtic Christian hermeticism, Zen Buddhism, Yoga, etc. (Doc. 2.1.). Although New Age advertises that it is open to all, a careful study of its “beliefs” shows a clear intolerance toward Christianity, which at times runs openly “counter to Christian Revelation” (Doc.1.4.).
New Age movement calls for a “paradigm shift”, a switch from reason to emotion and feelings, from any masculinity and patriarchy to a celebration of femininity (Mother Earth, Gaia), from the rejection of a personal and transcendent God to the affirmation of the centrality of the person. In New Age there is no distinction between good and evil. It maintains that “nobody needs forgiveness. Believing in the existence of evil can create only negativity and fear” (Doc.2.2.2.).
Some New Agers even believe that, since the human person can be perfected and achieve self-fulfillment through a wide variety of techniques and therapies, humans will eventually be divine and there will be no need of a transcendent God of Salvation, or Revelation. Humans will experience the “salvation hidden within themselves by mastering psycho-physical techniques which will lead to definitive enlightenment…The fundamental idea is that God is deep within ourselves. We are gods, and we discover the unlimited power within us by peeling off layers of inauthenticity…We are divine” (Doc.3.5.).
Not only are we divine, according to the New Age movement, but even Mother Earth, or Gaia, is divine and, through its concept of a “closed universe that contains God and other spiritual beings along with ourselves”, there is no escape but to fall into pantheism, the belief that there is no God but the combined forces of the existing universe. (Doc.2.3.1.). As Christians, we believe to the contrary, that “man is essentially a creature and remains so for all eternity, so that an absorption of the human “I” in the divine “I” will never be possible” (ibid.; cf. Gaudium et Spes, 19; Fides et Ratio, 22).
In New Age literature much is written about the “cosmic Christ” as espoused by Mathew Fox, former Catholic priest and New Age leader in California. But “a Gnostic belief in cosmic powers and some obscure kind of destiny withdraws the possibility of relationship to a personal God revealed in Christ” (Doc.3.3.). For us Christians, the real cosmic Christ is He who is involved intimately and personally in our lives; we are not locked into a cyclical pattern of cosmic events, but focus on the historical Jesus, especially his death and resurrection . The Christian concept of God is one of a Trinity of Persons, who has created the human race out of love, desiring to share His creation with His created beings. We Christians believe that our God is not identified with creation, but that He is both immanent (within) and at the same time, that He transcends (is beyond) creation. Christian spirituality, therefore, is “not so much our search for God but God’s search for us” (ibid), that we might share His life for eternity, to live with and in Him.
The Vatican Document points out that “in a cultural environment, marked by religious relativism, it is necessary to signal a warning against an attempt to place New Age religiosity on the same level as the Christian faith…it cannot be viewed as positive or innocuous… From the point of view of Christian faith, it is not possible to isolate some elements of New Age religiosity as acceptable to Christians, while rejecting others” (Doc.4).Some people say that there is nothing wrong in trying to learn something about other faiths, movements or other way of life. Here is what the Vatican Document says in this regard:
“Quite a few New Age groups welcome every opportunity to explain their philosophy and activities to others. Encounters with these groups should be approached with care, and should always involve persons who are capable of both explaining Catholic faith and spirituality, and of reflecting critically on New Age thought and practice. It is extremely important to check the credentials of people, groups and institutions claiming to offer guidance and information on New Age. In some cases what has started out as impartial investigation has later become active promotion, or advocacy on behalf of ‘alternative religions’…Some local New Age groups refer to their meetings as ‘prayer groups’. Those people who are invited to such groups need to look for the marks of genuine Christian spirituality, and to be wary if there is any sort of initiation ceremony. Such groups take advantage of a person’s lack of theological or spiritual formation to lure them gradually into what may in fact be a form of false worship”(Doc. 6.2.).
In his Pastoral Instruction on New Age, “A Call to Vigilance, His Eminence Cardinal Norberto Rivera Carrera, the Primate of Mexico, presents a brief analysis of the New Age phenomenon, outlining some of its elements most opposed to the Christian message: “It depersonalizes the God of Christian revelation. It disfigures the person of Jesus Christ, devalues his mission, and ridicules his redeeming sacrifice. It denies the unique, unrepeatable event of his Resurrection by affirming the doctrine of reincarnation. It empties the Christian concepts of creation and salvation of their content. It rejects the Church’s teaching authority and its institutional form.. It relativizes the Gospel’s original, unique, and historically based content. It deforms writings of Christian mystics and turns their true meaning upside down. It irreversibly waters down the practices of Christian prayer. It discards the human person’s moral responsibility and denies the existence of sin. It misleads children and young people in their religious formation. It divides Christian families and exploits them for financial gain” (Pastoral Instruction on New Age, Mexico-Tenochtitian, January 7, 1996, p. 19).
Dear Catholic faithful, confident that you will read this important Church Document, I wish to conclude in thanking again those of you who wrote to me asking for clarification. My spiritual leadership cannot but be consistent with the leadership of the universal Church which clearly states that New Age theories and doctrines are not compatible with our Christian Faith and cannot be reconciled with it. The Church doesn’t force you to go one way or another. You are free to choose. If you choose to be faithful to your faith in Christ, then the time has come for you to say “NO” to New Age’s influence in your life and to stand up for your faith, telling others to do the same.
I hope all who read these pages will reflect on this issue during the season of Lent, and if you need repentance or conversion, to do so, and return to the Truth, for only the Truth will set you free. The Church reminds you that only Jesus Christ, through his death and Resurrection, can offer living water to all those who draw near to Him with an open mind and heart.
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Most Rev. Nicola De Angelis, c.f.i.c
*You
can buy the Document at St. Anthony’s Book Store, Tel. 705/745-6568, or go to
the Vatican
Web site at:
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