Confirmation

The sacrament of Confirmation will be conferred on nine of our young people Wednesday evening at St. Patrick’s – Sparta by our bishop, the Most Rev. William Callahan.  It is always an occasion for great joy in our parishes when people, young or older, complete their initiation into God’s holy Church, His holy people.

As I reiterated to our young people this past Wednesday, Confirmation may be the end of the process of initiation, but it is only the end of the beginning of our continued growth in faith.    

The feast of St. Jerome was this past Thursday.  In celebrating this Father and Doctor of the Church, who is best known to us as the saint most closely connected to the study of holy scripture, we are reminded that our study of the faith, of which scripture is a large part, we are hearing from God, our Creator, our Father, the One in Whom we find the fullness of life.

We are also reminded that the scriptures are intended to be heard in worship, in the holy sacrifice of the Mass.  Our study of scripture and our meditation upon what we have read (this includes books which help us to understand the faith and scriptures better – what one person identified as the scriptures pre-digested for us) comes out of the liturgy, the Mass, and draws us back to it.  Why? Because the Mass is where God has chosen to interact with us, to be present to us in the most direct way this side of eternity.

As we celebrate the Confirmation of our young people it is a time for us to reflect on our own initiation into the faith and our stewardship of .  How have I lived out my faith?  Do I seek to continue my growth in Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Knowledge, Fortitude, Piety, and Fear of the Lord (the Gifts of the Holy Spirit)?  Do I recognize my faith as a pearl of great price for which I willingly sacrifice other goods?  Most important of all: Do I recognize faith as the intimate relationship to which the Father is calling me, for which He created me?

As I said, Confirmation is an excellent time to re-examine our own relationship with God and then re-commit to the promises made for us at Baptism and confirmed by us at Confirmation.  May God be with us all as we continue this pilgrimage of faith, or, rather, may we choose each day to be with God, and more intimately each moment of each day.

Politicians (and other sinners) & Holy Communion

As our Holy Father, Pope Francis, was continuing on his apostolic journey after his visit to Budapest, Hungary and the World Eucharistic Congress, a member of the press asked him about the reception of Holy Communion by politicians who support legal protections for abortion.  Quite rightly, he began by pointing out that abortion is murder, homicide, and it unacceptable that anyone should present themselves for Communion while at the same time promoting this daily slaughter of innocents.  He then went on to discuss the issue of withholding Communion from such persons as well as the issue of “excommunication”.

The Holy Father rightly said that no one should simply be excommunicated and forgotten / thrown aside.  He emphasized that all people, but especially those who are in sin, must be accompanied in a pastoral way which emphasizes God’s continued closeness to them even if they have turned their back on God and His Divine Will / Law.

Unfortunately, the common view of excommunication is that you have been “thrown out of the Church”; and in some very sad cases, the response on the part of the “faithful” has been “good-riddance”; on the part of the one excommunicated the response is too often either a self-righteous indignation (often then broadcast through the media) or a mutual attitude of “good-riddance”.  This is neither the attitude nor the intention of the Church in such situations.

The whole point of excommunication is “medicinal”, that is, the Church is letting the individual know how very serious their behavior is and how injurious that behavior is to the family to which we belong, that is - the Body of Christ, the Church.  As the Sisters used to teach – “in doing this you are driving another nail into the hands, feet, side of Christ.”  That is something that obviously cannot be allowed to continue.

Again, unfortunately, formal excommunication, or even simply not allowing someone to receive Holy Communion has neither been taken well by the subject of that action, nor have the pastors of the Church or Her people followed through with expressions of affection, concern, and determination to bring the individual concerned back into the full communion of the Church.

It is supremely important then, if the Church is to realize her mission which is the salvation of souls, that we take to heart this call to continuing conversion, reconciliation, and charity which are well attested to in the Gospels and in the epistles.

I hope in explaining this important issue we will all be drawn by the Holy Spirit to do our part in loving those who may be excluded from Holy Communion back into the full communion of the Church; which is to say, the full and mutual embrace of God, our Holy Mother – the Church, and each of the children of God.