Monk Notes
From Fr. Stephanos Pedrano, O.S.B.
October 23, 2024
W.A.S.P. CATHOLIC SAVAGES
October 22, 2022
A Homily for Saturday, 29th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II of the Weekday Readings
Ephesians 4:7-16.
Luke 13:1-9.
God risks, wastes, and lavishes time, work, and his overflowing, grace-filled, life-giving Spirit on us who are barren.
He does it NOT because he needs anything from us,
but with the goal of enabling and helping us to uphold new life for ourselves.
If we are still fruitlessly unrepentant after his over-the-top
generosity, he leaves that to us.
To be unrepentant is to be a fruitless tree that has no place in
the orchard of the living.
In the original language of the Gospel, the word for repentance
means literally change of mind.
Repentance is a change of mind about our own selves and about God.
The Word of the Lord in today’s first reading also upholds God’s
over-the-top gifts, and calls us to a change of mind.
GRACE WAS GIVEN TO EACH OF US according to the measure of Christ’s gift— Christ who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might FILL all things.
... to EQUIP the holy ones for the work...
for building up the BODY of Christ,
until we all attain to the unity of FAITH
and KNOWLEDGE of the Son of God,
to mature manhood
to the extent of the
full stature of Christ....
... LIVING THE TRUTH IN
LOVE,
we should GROW in every
way into him who is the head, Christ,
from whom the whole
BODY...
with the proper
functioning of each part,
brings about the BODY’S
growth
and builds itself up in
love.
Going over-the-top, God the Father, in the Body and Blood of his Son, works the ground at the roots of our humanity, watering and fertilizing it with his Spirit.
For THIS we have come to his altar once again, as we
have done daily and year after year.
Let us answer by choosing to change our minds, to grow, and to
bear fruit.
October 13, 2022
THE SCANDAL OF CHRIST, THE CHURCH, AND THE POPE
It is tragic that some Catholics hate Pope Francis and wish him dead.
Christ was a scandal, a stumbling block. As far as his earthly neighbors could tell, he was merely a man of flesh and blood, and yet he dared to forgive sins with the authority of God. He dared to uphold that he had come down from heaven and was the Son of God. Asserting his authority to judge all the nations at the end of history, he upheld our relationships with other human beings as the deciding factor in whether we might merit everlasting glory in heaven or everlasting torment in hell. At the Last Judgment, the least of our fellow human beings in need will have been as “vicars” of Christ, and Christ will judge our care or neglect of them as care or neglect of himself as our Lord and God. [See Mt. 25:31-46]
Forty days after he rose from the dead, he ascended into
heaven. He did not leave behind for us anything he had written. Instead of
leaving us a book, he chose to leave behind and send to us our fellow human
beings.
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and
on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” [Mt. 28:18-20]
They— mere human beings— were to dare to speak for him, just
as he, a man of flesh and blood, dared to speak as God. The scandal that was
Christ would continue in the scandal that is the Church and the human beings
that make up the Church.
After he ascended into heaven, the first act of the human
beings Christ left behind for us was to be of one accord with each other and
devote themselves to prayer with each other. [See Acts 1:14]
The second act of those human beings was to renew their own
number by seeking to replace the apostle Judas who had committed suicide. They
had the replacement, Matthias, join the apostles in being human witnesses of
Christ who gave witness to being God as a flesh-and-blood human being. In the
original Greek language of the book of Acts, the role or office of being such
an apostolic witness is called episkopen, meaning literally
“overseeing,” and being the Greek word from which we derive the word “bishop.”
Call them apostles, overseers, or bishops— but they are still
human beings, and Christ wants us to accept the testimony of human beings, just
as he wanted his earthly neighbors to accept his own human, flesh-and-blood
testimony that he was God personally come down from heaven.
Since
creation, until the end of time, and into the everlasting Kingdom, everything
for us as we stand before God is about relationships with divine persons and
human persons; it is all about love of God and love of neighbor.
One
of those human persons is our neighbor Pope Francis.
Some Catholics who pride themselves on conserving tradition
have now been contradicting traditional respect for the person of the pope in
their own words. Some of them make foul, derogatory comments about Pope
Francis, and they express the wish that he should die as soon as possible.
If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a
liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God
whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves
God should love his brother also. [1 Jn. 4:20-21]
The New Testament testifies that St. Peter— the first pope—
was unfaithful to Christ once Christ was arrested. While Christ was under
trial, Peter lied to save himself when accused of following Christ, and he went
into hiding. The risen Christ brought Peter back. However, Peter’s imperfections
did not all go away. Later, he and the apostle Paul were at odds over certain
issues of religious observance and doctrine.
Peter was not perfect, yet he was a vicar of Christ, not
merely as chief of the first apostles and holder of the keys of the Kingdom of
Heaven, but a vicar of Christ as much as the least of Christ’s needy brothers
and sisters.
Traditional and conservative Catholicism has long jumped to
the defense of the pope as the Vicar of Christ, but now some Catholics who
trumpet themselves as tradition-loving conservatives spout open hatred for the
present Vicar of Christ. Number 936 in the Catechism of the Catholic states the
traditional Catholic teaching as follows.
The Lord made St. Peter the visible
foundation of his Church. He entrusted the keys of the Church to him. The
bishop of the Church of Rome, successor to St. Peter, is “head of the college
of bishops, the Vicar of Christ and Pastor of the universal Church on earth”
(Code of Canon Law, canon 331).
Number
896 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church speaks of Catholics as following
with close attachment the bishop (and the pope is a bishop):
The Good Shepherd ought to
be the model and form of the bishop’s pastoral office. Conscious of his own
weaknesses, the bishop can have compassion for those who are ignorant and
erring. He should not refuse to listen to his subjects whose welfare he
promotes as of his very own children. The faithful should be closely attached
to the bishop as the Church is to Jesus Christ, and as Jesus Christ is to the Father:
Let all follow the bishop,
as Jesus Christ follows his Father, and the college of presbyters as the
apostles; respect the deacons as you do God's law. Let no one do anything
concerning the Church in separation from the bishop. In the Creed at Sunday
Mass, Catholics profess “one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.” We are
liars in professing this Creed if we cannot embrace with respectful faith that
the apostolicity of the Church depends both on having had apostles in the
beginning and on still having apostles in the persons of Pope Francis and the
bishops.
The Creed is not the only moment at Mass when we profess that
the Church is one and apostolic. The Canon or Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass
also always professes the same thing.
Here is where it appears in the Roman Canon or Eucharistic
Prayer I.
To you, therefore, most merciful Father, we
make humble prayer and petition through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord: that
you accept and bless these gifts, these offerings, these holy and unblemished sacrifices,
which we offer you firstly for your holy catholic Church. Be pleased to grant
her peace, to guard, unite and govern her throughout the whole world, together
with your servant Francis our Pope....
All
other Eucharistic Prayers that may be used instead of the Roman Canon express
the same thing. Here are two more examples.
In Eucharistic Prayer II.
Remember, Lord, your Church,
spread throughout the world, and bring her to the fullness of charity, together
with Francis our Pope....
In Eucharistic Prayer III.
Be pleased to confirm in
faith and charity your pilgrim Church on earth, with your servant Francis our
Pope....
Every Eucharistic Prayer ends with a doxology and the
faithful answering the Eucharistic Prayer with “Amen.”
To attend the Mass, profess its Creed, say “Amen” to its Eucharistic Prayer, and receive the Eucharistic Body and Blood of Christ which we have by virtue of priests ordained by bishops in union with the pope, but to openly, disrespectfully, and hatefully denigrate the pope and wish for his hasty death is to turn one’s participation in the Mass into a grave lie.
One
might as well be Judas Iscariot at the Last Supper.
October 04, 2022
August 07, 2022
Waiting Mindfully?
Wisdom 18:6-9. Hebrews 11:1-2,8-19. Luke 12:32-48.
... Father,bring, we pray, to perfection in our heartsthe spirit of adoption as your sons and daughters,that we may merit to enter into the inheritancewhich you have promised.
Blessed are those servantswhom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.Amen, I say to you, HE will GIRD himself,HAVE them recline at table, and proceed to WAIT on them.
Gird your loins and light your lampsand be like servants who await their master’s return...ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.
Blessed are those servantswhom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.Amen, I say to you, he will gird himself,have them recline at table, and proceed to wait on them.
Gird your loins and light your lampsand be like servants who await their master’s return...ready to open immediately when he comes and knocks.Blessed are those servantswhom the master finds vigilant on his arrival.
August 01, 2022
June 09, 2022
He found himself guarding the door at his daughter's elementary school graduation.
Parenting as a Catholic pacifist in an era of mass shootings
Jon M. Sweeney, 9 June 2022, in the magazine, “America: The Jesuit Review”
Only two days after the horrific killing of 19 children and two adults in Uvalde, Tex., I filed into an auditorium to watch my daughter’s elementary school graduation ceremony.
She attends Golda Meir, a public school in
downtown Milwaukee, Wis., and the 85 children finishing fifth grade were
participating in a “bridging ceremony,” celebrating their move next year across
the street to the middle school campus.
Some time before the speeches and the video
presentation that paired a contemporary photo of each child’s face beside one
of each as toddlers, I found myself lingering near the front door.
In some ways it was just like any other school
function throughout the year. Students and parents arrived, masked, and sat
down in the auditorium. The latest school shooting was everywhere in the news,
but I didn’t hear a word of fear nor a mention of the gun violence in the quiet
conversation of people near me. But as we gathered to celebrate this group of
school children, those children who died in Texas, who would never make it to their
own graduations, were at the forefront of my mind. Surely others felt the same.
My wife and I had arrived early, and from our
seats near the front, I kept looking back toward the entrance we had walked
through. It occurred to me, Should there be a guard here? And then, Is
anyone watching the front door? So I got up and did that.
Admittedly, this is an unusual move for
someone who considers himself a pacifist. When I turned 18 and had to register
with Selective Service, I did so by writing “Conscientious Objector” on the
form. Since then, I have called myself a peacemaker. I have never held a gun
and never want to. But I am also a father. So on this day, I found myself
leaving my seat to stand near the entrance and eye every guy who walked through
the door.
If I’d seen someone with a weapon, I’d have
thrown my 195 pounds at him as best I could.
I often feel that it's inevitable: Someday
I'll be throwing myself in front of a stream of bullets. Maybe I won’t be
called on to throw myself in front of a stream of bullets, but I will need to
be ready to do so. The thought occurs to me at synagogue, too, since not only
is the tally of mass shootings going up, but so is the hate that fuels them.
I’m a Catholic married to a rabbi, and I see
how anti-Semitism is growing. At the synagogue, I keep an eye on the door while
services are going on and make a mental note about which metal chair I might
pick up to throw at a gun-toting intruder, or from what angle I might rush at
him if he has come to get the rabbi.
Ever since the 1999 shooting at Columbine High
School in Colorado, schools have created safety drills and discussion and
training sessions for teachers, staff and students to prepare them to respond
to crisis situations involving guns. “Active shooter” has become a phrase known
to all. My oldest child was only 6 when the Columbine shooting happened. Our
family has grown up in this world.
There is no question that mass shootings are
more common at public schools than private ones. I have not read much analysis
as to why. And I am not eager to. But the other day I asked a friend whose
children attend one of our Milwaukee Catholic schools if he thinks his kids are
safer there. He said he thought the small size of the school, along with
practical safety measures, created what he felt was a relatively safe
environment for his children. His answer spoke to the importance of community
in keeping children safe, the vigilance we owe one another at every school.
As a Christian I am told not to fear, and as a
pacifist I am told not to defend myself. Just look at the exchange between
Jesus and Peter in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26). When the soldiers
come to take Jesus away, Peter strikes at one of them with his sword. Clearly,
Peter is armed. But Jesus rebukes his friend, the first pope. Put your sword
away, Jesus tells him. Do you really believe that is how the will of God is
accomplished? The church allows for self-defense. But attacking someone, even
someone threatening violence, is not what I have been taught to do as a follower
of Jesus and a pacifist. But these commands are getting harder to follow.
A Christian is called to be a martyr, a word
that means “witness,” and the examples given by Jesus of martyr-witnesses are
those whom we have come to understand as saints. They are people who, when
faced with danger or violence, are willing to sacrifice their lives without
harming others, even those who try to hurt them. Even from the cross, with
violence all around him, Jesus did not fight back. Instead he said, “Father, forgive
them.” I want to show forgiveness. I want to respond peacefully. But I also
want to keep my eye on the auditorium door.
My wife, the congregational rabbi, is not a
Jesus-follower, but she shares my feelings of not wanting guns in religious
services, despite the risks religious people face by gathering together. Our
local Jewish federation recently provided funding for every synagogue to have
an armed guard at high holiday services each fall. My wife accepted the offer
but now feels uneasy about it.
There is now a worldly
reality that may require armed guards under certain circumstances. In St.
Peter’s Square in Vatican City, for instance. At the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
But the presence of weapons fundamentally changes a space. The result of this capitulation,
for me anyway, is that I cannot really pray in those places. Can you really
promote a sense of peace by surrounding a place with guns? Does an armed guard
make prayer possible, or does an armed guard make a place unholy?
Everyone walking through
the door at my daughter’s fifth grade graduation turned out to be a parent,
grandparent, sibling or friend. I returned to my seat before the presentations
began, and the door to the auditorium remained open. It felt like a risk, but
what was I to do, really? Every day at school is now a day when our children
are at risk. I will not be there to protect my children 99 percent of the time.
But I also know that if I am there, I will not hesitate to lead the charge
against an attacker.
As that video presentation
rolled, showing the beautiful grinning faces of my daughter and her classmates,
I wept quietly in my seat, thinking of those parents who, on that same day,
were burying their children in the hot sun.