Amintindu-ne cine suntem

 

ÎN privegherea solemnității
A SFINTEI NĂSCI DOMNULUI

 

FIECARE anul, vedem și auzim din nou motto-ul familiar, „Păstrează-l pe Hristos în Crăciun!” ca un contracar al corectitudinii politice care a sterilizat vitrinele magazinelor de Crăciun, piese de teatru și discursurile publice. Dar cineva ar putea fi iertat dacă se întreabă dacă Biserica însăși nu și-a pierdut concentrarea și „motivul de a fi”? La urma urmei, ce înseamnă să-l țin pe Hristos în Crăciun? Vă asigurați că spunem „Crăciun fericit” în loc de „Sărbători fericite”? Să ridic o iesle, precum și un copac? Mergi la Liturghia de la miezul nopții? Cuvintele Fericitului Cardinal Newman stăruiesc în mintea mea de câteva săptămâni:

Satana poate adopta armele mai alarmante ale înșelăciunii - se poate ascunde - poate încerca să ne seducă în lucruri mărunte, și astfel să miște Biserica, nu dintr-o dată, ci încetul cu încetul de la poziția ei adevărată. Cred că a făcut multe în acest fel în decursul ultimelor secole ... Politica lui este să ne despartă și să ne despartă, să ne dea afară treptat din stânca noastră de forță. -Numit John Henry Newman, Predica IV: Persecuția lui Antihrist

As I ponder the Synod on the Family that concluded this Fall, we spoke of the “pastoral care” of the family in unorthodox situations. Important questions. But when did we speak about the “salvation” of the family?

Vatican officials suddenly became emboldened and courageous this year, but not so much in becoming “fools for Christ”, but “fools for climate change.”

As the “Year of Mercy” began in Vatican Square on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, it was not images of the Divine Mercy, the Sacred Heart, or the Blessed Mother that were beamed onto St. Peter’s facade, but wild animals replete with grunts and growls.

This was followed by a Vatican Commission on “Relations with the Jews”, which concluded that the Church no longer “conducts nor supports any specific institutional mission work directed towards Jews” —a contradiction to 2000 years of biblical approach finding its roots in St. Paul. ^[1]“A Reflection on the Theological Questions Pertaining to Catholic-Jewish Relations on the Occasion of the 50th Anniversary of “Aetate al nostru“, n. 40, Dec. 10th, 2015; vatican.va; nb. the document itself says that its conclusions are “non-magisterial”.

And as Catholic churches suddenly filled to the brim on Christmas Eve with “parishioners” filing up for their yearly Communion (or bi-yearly, if Easter is included), one must ask the question: do we remember why we are even here? Why does the Church exist?

 

WHY DO WE EXIST?

Pope Paul VI answered the question succinctly:

[Biserica] există pentru a evangheliza, adică pentru a predica și a învăța, pentru a fi canalul darului harului, pentru a reconcilia păcătoșii cu Dumnezeu și pentru a perpetua jertfa lui Hristos în Liturghie, care este memorial al morții și învierii Sale glorioase. -Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 14; vatican.va

There is something frequently missing from our dialogue these days. And that is the name of Isus. The year has been filled with debates on pastoral care, global warming, the Pope’s appointees, the Pope’s interviews, the cultural wars, politics, and on and on… but where does the salvation of souls enter in and the mission of the Redeemer? While many were dismayed that Pope Francis would dare say that some are “obsessed with the transmission of a disjointed multitude of doctrines to be imposed insistently”,^[2]cf. americamagazine.org, 30 septembrie 2103 the past year has often proven those words to be more true than not. When I speak to crowds of people, I often remind them that if our morning unfolds without any one of us giving thought to the salvation of others, whether through our witness, sacrifices, and prayers, then our priorities are off—our hearts are no longer beating in unison with the Savior’s heart. After all, we heard the Angel Gabriel announce to Mary that she was to name Him Jesus “because he will save his people from their sins.” ^[3]Matt 1: 21 His mission is ours.

Oricine mă slujește trebuie să mă urmeze și acolo unde sunt, acolo va fi și robul meu. (Ioan 12:26)

That’s the meaning of Christmas. The purpose of the Church. The motivation of this website: to release the world from the grip of sin that has the power to eternally separate us from our Creator.^[4]cf. Iadul este pentru Real

 

MISSION OF MERCY

It is also true that we must avoid a common twofold fundamentalist response: either a limited concern for the “soul” and “salvation” of the other while neglecting their needs and wounds; or, on the other hand, to relegate faith to the private sphere. As Pope Benedict asked:

Cum s-ar fi putut dezvolta ideea că mesajul lui Isus este strict individualist și se adresează numai fiecărei persoane singur? Cum am ajuns la această interpretare a „mântuirii sufletului” ca o fugă de la responsabilitatea întregului și cum am ajuns să concepem proiectul creștin ca o căutare egoistă a mântuirii care respinge ideea de a sluji altora? - BENEFICIUL POPULUI XVI, Spe Salvi (Salvat în speranță), n. 16

In this regard, Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium continues to provide a lucid and challenging blueprint for evangelization in 2016. In a world where near out-of-control advancements in technology are creating an unparalleled anthropological earthquake, it is imperative that we remind ourselves over and over again of why we are here, who we are, and who we shall become.

Francis has hewn a path understood by few in the Church and misunderstood by many: it is the path for maximum attraction to the Gospel, a path that Jesus Himself trod at a time when “the people were in darkness.”^[5]cf. Matei 4:16 And what is this path? Milă. It scandalized the “religious” 2000 years ago, and it scandalizes the religious again today. ^[6]cf. Scandalul Milostivirii Why? Because while not neglecting the reality of sin, Mercy does not make sin its initial focus. Rather, it makes the manifestation of “love of the other” the primul initiative. St. Thomas Aquinas explained that “The foundation of the New Law is in the grace of the Holy Spirit, who is manifested in the faith which works through love. " ^[7]Suma Teologică, I-II, q. 108, a. 1

In itself mercy is the greatest of the virtues, since all the others revolve around it and, more than this, it makes up for their deficiencies.
-Sf. Thomas Aquinas, Suma Teologică, II-II, q. 30, a. 4; cf. Evangelii Gaudium, nu. 37

Francis has explained in paragraphs 34-39 of Evangelii Gaudium ^[8]cf. vatican.va precisely what he is up to: a re-ordering of the priorities of contemporary evangelization that while not neglecting the moral truths, re-places them in their proper “hierarchy.”

All revealed truths derive from the same divine source and are to be believed with the same faith, yet some of them are more important for giving direct expression to the heart of the Gospel. In this basic core, what shines forth is the beauty of the saving love of God made manifest in Jesus Christ who died and rose from the dead. —PAPA FRANCIS, Evangelii Gaudium, n. 36; vatican.va

In a word, the Church needs to urgently recover the esenţă al Evangheliei:

Esența creștinismului nu este o idee, ci o persoană. —POPE BENEDICT XVI, spontaneous speech to the clergy of Rome; Zenit, May 20th, 2005

 

ATOTȘTIUTOR

Yet, how can we be witnesses of mercy if we have not encountered He who is Mercy? How can we speak of One whom we do not know? Brothers and sisters, if the essence of Christianity is not an idea, a list of rules, or even a certain way of life, but a Persoană, then being a Christian is to ști this Person: Jesus Christ. And to know Him is not to know despre Him, but to know Him in the way a husband knows a wife. In fact, the biblical term for “know” in the Old Testament means to “have intercourse with”. Thus, for Noah to “know” his wife was to make love to her.

“For this reason a man shall leave [his] father and [his] mother and be joined to his wife,and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church. (Eph 5:31-32)

This is a simple, accessible, but profound analogy of the spiritual intimitate that God desires to have with each of us.

Isus însetează; cererea lui provine din adâncurile dorinței lui Dumnezeu pentru noi ... Dumnezeu sete ca să ne fie sete după el. -Catehismul Bisericii Catolice, n. 2560

When we enter into the “thirst” of God and begin to thirst for Him, to “seek, knock, and ask” for Him, then Jesus says:

‘Rivers of living water will flow from within him.’ He said this in reference to the Spirit that those who came to believe in him were to receive. (John 7:38-39)

With the supernatural help and grace of the Holy Spirit, all other questions, problems, and challenges can be faced in a new and uncreated light, which is Wisdom itself. Thus,

Este necesar să intrăm într-o prietenie reală cu Isus într-o relație personală cu el și să nu știm cine este Isus doar de la alții sau din cărți, ci să trăim o relație personală tot mai profundă cu Isus, unde putem începe să înțelegem ce este el cerându-ne ... Cunoașterea lui Dumnezeu nu este suficientă. Pentru o întâlnire adevărată cu el, trebuie să-l iubești și pe el. Cunoașterea trebuie să devină dragoste. —PAPA BENEDICT XVI, Întâlnire cu tinerii din Roma, 6 aprilie 2006; vatican.va

However, if Jesus remains distant; if God remains a theological concept; if Mass becomes a mere ritual, prayer a litany of words, and Christmas, Easter, and the like mere nostalgia… then Christianity will lose its power in those places, and even disappear. This is precisely what is happening in vast portions of the world at the present moment. It is not a crisis in morality so much as a crisis of the heart. We, the Church, have forgotten who we are. We have lost our first love,^[9]cf. Prima dragoste pierdută who is Jesus, and once foundations are lost, the whole edifice begins to collapse. Indeed, “unless the Lord build the house, they labor in vain who build”. ^[10]Psalmul 127: 1

For the power of the Holy Spirit flows through a relatie personala as much as sap flows only through those branches legat to the vine. The Church’s mission is accomplished ultimately not through edicts and ideas but through a transformed people, through a holy people, through a docile and humble people. Rarely is she transformed through theologians, scholars, and canon lawyers—unless their duties are undertaken upon their knees. The idea of a personal relationship with Our Savior is not an innovation of the Southern Baptist Convention or Billy Graham. It lies at the very roots of Christianity when Mary took Jesus into her arms; when Jesus Himself took children into His arms; when Our Lord gathered Twelve companions; when St. John lay his head on the Savior’s breast; when Joseph of Arimathea wrapped His body in linen; when Thomas placed his fingers into the wounds of Christ; when St. Paul expended his every word for love of His God. A personal and profound relationship marks the lives of every Saint, of the mystical writings of John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila and others that describe the nuptial love and blessings of union with God. Yes, the very heart of the Church’s liturgical and private prayer comes down to this: a personal relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Omul, însuși creat după „chipul lui Dumnezeu” [este] chemat la o relație personală cu Dumnezeu ... rugăciune este relația vie a copiilor lui Dumnezeu cu Tatăl lor ... -Catehismul Bisericii Catolice, n. 299, 2565

What could possibly be more intimate than receiving the Body and Blood of Jesus physically within us at the Holy Eucharist? Ah, how profound a mystery! But how many souls are not even aware of it!

As the New Year begins, the words from today’s Mass on this Solemnity of the Mother of God take us back to the heart of the Gospel:

When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to ransom those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. As proof that you are sons,  God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,  crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave but a son,  and if a son then also an heir, through God. (Gal 4:4-7)

There you have the essence of Christian conversion—one who realizes that he or she is not orphaned, but now has a Father, a Brother, a Wonderful Counsellor—and yes, a Mother. A Holy Family. So how do we come to this place of literally crying out “Abba, Father!”? It is not automatic. It is a decision of the will, a choice to enter into a real
and living relationship with God. I decided to court my wife, to betroth her, and to give myself totally to her in order for our marriage to bear fruit. And the fruit today is eight children, and now a grandchild on the way (yes, you heard me right!).

The Lord did not save us to only save us, but to make us His very friends.

I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. (John 15:15)

On this Solemnity of the Mother of God, ask her—she who formed the first personal relationship with Jesus—how to love Him as she did. And then invite Jesus into your heart in your own words… I suppose the way you would invite anyone out of the cold into your home. Yes, we can keep Jesus on the outskirts of our lives in a cold stable—in sterile religious exercise or intellectual vanity—or we can make room for Him in the Inn of our hearts. Therein lies the whole heart of the Gospel—and who we are, and are to become.

I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”. The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”. How good it feels to come back to him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy. Christ, who told us to forgive one another “seventy times seven” (Mt 18:22) has given us his example: he has forgiven us seventy times seven. Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love. With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy, he makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew. Let us not flee from the resurrection of Jesus, let us never give up, come what will. May nothing inspire more than his life, which impels us onwards! —PAPA FRANCIS, Evangelii Gaudium, n. 3; vatican.va

 

ÎNTREBĂRI LEGATE

Cunoscându-l pe Iisus

Centrul Adevărului

The Popes on a Relația personală cu Isus

Înțelegerea lui Francis

Neînțelegerea lui Francis

Scandalul Milostivirii