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5/16/2012

When they had gathered together they asked him, "Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" He answered them, "It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight. While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them. They said, "Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven."

(Acts 1:6-11)

Posted at 3:05 PM by Sherwin, Robert | Category: Everyday Faith | Permalink | Email this Post

4/9/2012

AND PROFESS YOUR RESURRECTION...

"'We bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this day he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus.' The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowning truth of our faith in Christ, a faith believed and lived as the central truth by the first Christian community; handed on as fundamental by Tradition; established by the documents of the New Testament; and preached as an essential part of the Paschal mystery along with the cross:

Christ is risen from the dead!
Dying, he conquered death;
To the dead, he has given life." (CCC #638)

Posted at 3:45 PM by Sherwin, Robert | Category: Everyday Faith | Permalink | Email this Post

4/4/2012

WE PROCLAIM YOUR DEATH, O LORD...

At the Cross

By: Andy Stinson

I wait, And time ticks past.

I gaze, Made silent by the sight.

I watch, As soldiers meticulously move Executing each terrible, torturous task.

I gasp, Still life lingers in His fragile, broken form.

I flinch, As blow by blow, Nails bite deep through flesh to find wood.

I stand, As He is lifted high, Silhouetted ‘gainst the sky which He has made.

I weep, As His cry echoes deep in my hardened, calloused heart.

I wail, As He screams ‘it is complete, Finished, final, said and done.’

I fall, As the sky turns inky black And the sun and moon and stars forget to shine.

I kneel, As worlds collide, And time ticks by; What once bound, no longer seems to hold.

I bow, For part of me is gone, Kept forever on Calvary’s painful peak.

I wait, At the foot of the cross, to begin my journey home.

Posted at 10:45 AM by Sherwin, Robert | Category: Everyday Faith | Permalink | Email this Post

3/30/2012

THE MYSTERY OF FAITH

My wife is a huge fan of mystery stories. She reads mystery novels. She loves television shows like, "Castle," "Law and Order", and "Blue Bloods." Unlike her, I am more a fan of comedy. But a good mystery keeps you tied to your seat. You never want the television show to end. You never want to put the book down. You want to follow every twist and turn of the mystery, as if you, yourself were right there living it.

Our faith has a mystery as well. We will begin living the Mystery this Sunday, as Jesus enters Jerusalem triumphantly (Mark 11:1-10). Later in the Liturgy for Passion Sunday we will hear Mark's account of the Last Supper and Passion of Christ (Mark 14:1-15:47). On Holy Thursday, we will hear the Institution of the Eucharist from Saint Paul (I Cor 11:23-26), and the Washing of the Disciples of Feet from John's Gospel (John 13:1-15). Once again on Good Friday, the story is told of Christ's Passion from the Gospel of Saint John (John 18:1-19:42) Easter Sunday morning brings us to the Resurrection of Christ as told by John (John 20:1-9). But the Mystery doesn't end there. Forty days after Easter, Christ returns in glory to the Father through his Ascension (Mark 16:15-20).

Christ's Passion, death, Resurrection, and glorious Ascension make up the mystery of faith, the mystery of our salvation, the Paschal Mystery. "'The wonderful works of God among the people of the Old Testament were but a prelude to the work of Christ the Lord in redeeming mankind and giving perfect glory to God. He accomplished this work principally by the Paschal mystery of his blessed Passion, Resurrection from the dead, and glorious Ascension, whereby 'dying he destroyed our death, rising he restored our life.' For it was from the side of Christ as he slept the sleep of death upon the cross that there came forth 'the wondrous sacrament of the whole Church.' For this reason, the Church celebrates in the liturgy above all the Paschal mystery by which Christ accomplished the work of our salvation." (CCC #1067)

During the Liturgical Celebrations of Palm Sunday, the Easter Triduum, and the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord, we will follow the twist and turns of the Mystery of Faith as if we were right there living it. The book that we should never want to put down then, is the Scriptures that tell us the story of the greatest mystery ever told.

Posted at 3:45 PM by Sherwin, Robert | Category: Everyday Faith | Permalink | Email this Post

3/16/2012

A VICTIMLESS CRIME WITH MANY VICTIMS

The classic definition of "the oldest profession on earth," is that it is a victimless crime. The payer is not a victim, because he/she is seeking pleasure and has the financial assets to fulfill those desires. His/her spouse and family are not victims because the act is hidden from them. The payee is not a victim because he/she is advertising their services, and they therefore expect to be paid to fulfill the payer's request.

Prostitution is not only crime, but the Church sees it as a sin and acknowledges that there are many victims of this crime.

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we are taught, "Prostitution does injury to the dignity of the person who engages in it, reducing the person to an instrument of sexual pleasure. The one who pays sins gravely against himself: he violates the chastity to which his Baptism pledged him and defiles his body, the temple of the Holy Spirit. Prostitution is a social scourge. It usually involves women, but also men, children, and adolescents (The latter two cases involve the added sin of scandal.). While it is always gravely sinful to engage in prostitution, the imputability of the offense can be attenuated by destitution, blackmail, or social pressure." (CCC #2355)

There are many victims in this "victimless crime." First, there are those that pay for these services. As the Catechism points out the payer, sins against his/her body the temple of the Holy Spirit. He/she may have addictions and other emotional illnesses. They sin against their spouse and family, as they are not living out commitments made before the Lord and His Church.

The spouse of the payer is another victim. Their love, their spiritual life, and their marital commitment are all shattered by the acts of their spouse. While, they may not know the specifics of the actions of their spouse, they do know that they are not living the life the spouse promised in the Sacrament of Matrimony. They know that they are worried by their spouse's lack of presence; they know that there is something wrong in the life of their spouse.

The payer's family is also a victim. They also suffer because of their parent's lack of presence. They do not benefit from the love, wisdom, and compassion of the parent that is absence. The stress that is placed on the payer's spouse can be directed to the payer's children. The children are lacking the parental commitment agreed to by the parents in the Sacrament of Baptism.

Finally, the payee is a victim. Many times they come to the decision to engage in this profession because they feel they have no other choice. One bad decision in their life has led to another bad decision and another and so on. Many are addicted to illegal substances. Many have been physically, mentally, and sexually abused. Many do not know that there are people who care, can assist them, and show them the love of Christ.

"Then the scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery and made her stand in the middle. They said to him, 'Teacher, this woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery. Now in the law, Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?' But when they continued asking him, he straightened up and said to them, 'Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.' And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders. So he was left alone with the woman before him. Then Jesus straightened up and said to her, 'Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' She replied, 'No one, sir.' Then Jesus said, 'Neither do I condemn you. Go, [and] from now on do not sin any more.'” (John 8:3-5, 7, 9-11)

The furthest thing from the truth is that prostitution is a victimless crime. Let us be mindful of our own sinfulness. Let us consider all who are hurt by this sin. Let us find ways through the love and compassion of Christ to end this awful crime with many, many victims.

Posted at 4:20 PM by Sherwin, Robert | Category: Everyday Faith | Permalink | Email this Post

3/6/2012

EVERY MAN'S STRUGGLE

Two families gathered with my family on Super Bowl Sunday to watch the game. Since the Steelers were not in the Super Bowl, our attention to the game was very sporadic. In fact, I didn't even start watching the game until the Second Quarter. The parents in the crowd were teens of the 80's and 90's, so of course we had an interest in the Half Time show featuring Madonna. Following the show, a commercial came on featuring a bikini clad woman waving the green flag for a car in a race. As the car zoomed pass the grand stand, the action went into slow motion revealing the entire grand stand was filled with women in bikinis. The ad was shocking in its disregard of women and the special gift of sexuality. The teen and pre-teen boys and girls in the room deserved an explanation as to the reason the ad was wrong. Later on in the evening, my wife and I did discuss the ad with our three children.

It is obvious that many advertisers and their corporate clients believe in the theory that sex sells. While the ad I described would not be classified as pornography, it and other ads feed into a struggle that almost every man fights every day, the struggle to keep our minds and eyes away from sexually explicit material. The struggle starts early, just ask my 10 year old son. He and I and his 8 year old brother have already had a few discussions regarding appropriate attire, the way you treat girls, and the reason why certain material in the media should not be viewed.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church treats pornography as an offense against chastity. "Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution of pornographic materials." (# 2354)

Pornography and sexually explicit material are offenses against chastity because they take away dignity from those portrayed in the acts, those watching the acts, and they degrade God's gift of sexuality to a purposeless bodily function.

Many men and women struggle with an addiction to pornography. If you or someone you love is fighting every man's struggle then I urge to contact Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Greensburg and log on to pornnomore.com.

Posted at 4:40 PM by Sherwin, Robert | Category: Everyday Faith | Permalink | Email this Post

2/10/2012

FOOTLOOSE: EASY SEXUALITY AND RELAXED MORALITY

Many of you who were in high school in the mid 1980's will remember the 1984 film Footloose, staring Kevin Bacon. The movie starts with a homily delivered by what I would classify as a fundamentalist preacher. His message for this Sunday was essentially that rock-n-roll music and dance are the gateway drugs to fornication.

"And he is testing us. Every, every day, our Lord is testing us. If he wasn't testing us how would you account for the sorry state of our society for the crimes that plague the big cities of this country when he could sweep this pestilence from the face of the earth with one mighty gesture of his hand? If our Lord wasn't testing us, how would you account for the proliferation these days of this obscene rock and roll music with its gospel of easy sexuality and relaxed morality?"

First a definition of what the Church defines as fornication from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. "Fornication is carnal union between an unmarried man and an unmarried woman. It is gravely contrary to the dignity of persons and of human sexuality which is naturally ordered to the good of spouses and the generation and education of children. Moreover, it is a grave scandal when there is corruption of the young." (CCC #2353)

Let's break down this definition. Fornication is when an unmarried man and an unmarried woman engage in a sexual act. Sexual acts are reserved to a man and a woman who are married.

Sexual acts between a married man and a married woman should be to express love and an intimate communion between the two people. These acts should always be open to the possibility of the conception of a child, who should be welcomed with opened arms and lovingly cared for.

When a man and a woman who are unmarried engage in sexual acts they sin because they violate the dignity of themselves and the other person. They sin because their sexual act does not express an intimate communion. That intimate communion can only be forged through the Sacramental commitment of marriage to love, serve, and cherish the other person until death do they part.

While the preacher in Footloose may have been a little harsh, one thing is clear. He was right in saying that we must educate our children and youth about expressing love in the Sacramental commitment of marriage, and that society's version of easy sexuality and relaxed morality is not in concert with the will of God and leads to so many hurts.

Below you will find a statement from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the announcement made today by President Obama about the HHS mandate:

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) sees initial opportunities in preserving the principle of religious freedom after President Obama’s announcement today. But the Conference continues to express concerns. “While there may be an openness to respond to some of our concerns, we reserve judgment on the details until we have them,” said Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“The past three weeks have witnessed a remarkable unity of Americans from all religions or none at all worried about the erosion of religious freedom and governmental intrusion into issues of faith and morals,” he said.

“Today’s decision to revise how individuals obtain services that are morally objectionable to religious entities and people of faith is a first step in the right direction,” Cardinal-designate Dolan said. “We hope to work with the Administration to guarantee that Americans’ consciences and our religious freedom are not harmed by these regulations.”

Posted at 4:40 PM by Sherwin, Robert | Category: Everyday Faith | Permalink | Email this Post

2/3/2012

CHASTITY IT'S MORE THAN JUST ABSTINENCE

As we turned the calendar to February this past Wednesday, many of the romantics among us, began to make plans to celebrate Saint Valentine's Day with their significant other. The celebration of the feast of the priest and martyr, who died in 269, has become synonymous with romantic dinners and expressions of love.

As we make our Valentine's plans it is a good time to discuss the virtue of chastity and what living out that virtue means. Many people think that chastity is equivalent to abstinence. Many people when discussing chastity define it as abstinence from sexual acts for those who are unmarried. But chastity is much more than that. The Church considers chastity a virtue and a vocation.

In the Catechism of the Catholic Church we hear, "Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality, in which man's belonging to the bodily and biological world is expressed, becomes personal and truly human when it is integrated into the relationship of one person to another, in the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman. The virtue of chastity therefore involves the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift." (CCC #2337)

No matter our state of life - single, married, religious, or ordained - we are all called and asked to live chastity for our state of life. Living chastity is different in each state of life, but each of us is called to live with the integrity of the person and the integrality of the gift of self.

The integrity of the person includes a dedication to mastering our own passions, lusts, and desires. "Chastity includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery which is a training in human freedom. The alternative is clear: either man governs his passions and finds peace, or he lets himself be dominated by them and becomes unhappy. 'Man's dignity therefore requires him to act out of conscious and free choice, as moved and drawn in a personal way from within, and not by blind impulses in himself or by mere external constraint. Man gains such dignity when, ridding himself of all slavery to the passions, he presses forward to his goal by freely choosing what is good and, by his diligence and skill, effectively secures for himself the means suited to this end.'" (CCC #2339)

My 12 year old daughter has recently discovered boys and they have recently discovered her. It is a natural thing, yet for the father it sometimes leads to heart palpations. However, one of the things my wife and I have taught my daughter about relationships and chastity is that relationships begin in friendship and as we get to know the other person better and feel called to spend the rest of our life with one person the relationship culminates in a total giving of each other. The Church calls this the integrality of the gift of self.

"The virtue of chastity blossoms in friendship. It shows the disciple how to follow and imitate him who has chosen us as his friends, who has given himself totally to us and allows us to participate in his divine estate. Chastity is a promise of immortality. Chastity is expressed notably in friendship with one's neighbor... friendship represents a great good for all. It leads to spiritual communion." (CCC #2347)

Over the next few weeks we will discuss the following issues and their effects in our lives if we do not live the virtue and vocation of chastity: fornication, pornography, and prostitution.

Posted at 4:10 PM by Sherwin, Robert | Category: Everyday Faith | Permalink | Email this Post

1/27/2012

VERY RARE AND PRACTICALLY NON-EXISTENT

The title of the new movie on 9/11 starring Tom Hanks, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, gave me two reasons to pause before writing this week's post on the death penalty.

The first reason for a pause, was if they had survived their criminal act, what should have been the punishment for Mohammed Atta and the 9/11 hijackers?

The second reason for a pause, was the final line of the teaching of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the death penalty. It is very similar to the title of Hanks' movie. "... The cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity 'are very rare, if not practically non-existent.'" (CCC #2267)

This paragraph of the Catechism will be the basis of this post. It is a question that is debated over and over again. What is the Catholic Church's teaching on the death penalty? The answer is very simple. The death penalty is only permitted if the identity and responsibility of the guilty party has been fully determined by authorities and it is "the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor." (CCC #2267) Defending here, would be defined as protecting human live.

The Catechism goes on to say that in today's society there are sufficient means "to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor." (CCC #2267) Additionally, the Catechism teaches that today's society has the capabilities that allow a person who has committed a criminal act to redeem and rehabilitate himself.

Therefore it is the Church’s conclusion, "the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity 'are very rare, if not practically non-existent.'" (CCC #2267)

Posted at 3:35 PM by Sherwin, Robert | Category: Everyday Faith | Permalink | Email this Post

1/20/2012

LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

In Congress, July 4, 1776. "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed..." This is a direct quote from the Declaration of Independence.

The Forefathers of this country recognized that every person created by God has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and that these rights are given to each person by God. Government's role is to assist the people in securing these rights.

However, in 1973, the United States Supreme Court ruled that a right to privacy under the due process clause in the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution extends to a woman's decision to have an abortion. The Supreme Court decision, on a right not recognized as one given by the Creator but by government, struck down any state and federal regulations against a mother's "right" to an abortion.

In this debate of rights it is imperative that we look not to the government, but what the Church teaches.

On the right to life: "Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life." (CCC #2270)

On the right to freedom and liberty: "Freedom is exercised in relationships between human beings. Every human person, created in the image of God, has the natural right to be recognized as a free and responsible being. All owe to each other this duty of respect. The right to the exercise of freedom, especially in moral and religious matters, is an inalienable requirement of the dignity of the human person. This right must be recognized and protected by civil authority..." (CCC #1738)

On the duties of political authorities: "Political authorities are obliged to respect the fundamental rights of the human person. They will dispense justice humanely by respecting the rights of everyone, especially of families and the disadvantaged." (CCC #2237)

Life Promise Prayer

In the name of the One God, ever living and life giving,
faithful and true, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

I accept God's gift of life to me
     in the circumstances
     of my conception and birth,
     of my parents, of my family,
of all whosoever care for me or did me
harm in all the years that began the journey
of my life.
God who calls by name works all together for my good.
     I choose life.

I accept God's gift of life around me,
     the sacred treasure of each human life
     whether sister, brother, friend or stranger;
     however whole or broken, small or great,
     saint or sinner,
     rich or poor, ill or well, ally or enemy, or
     indifferent.

Each is crafted in God's image, to each is offered
Christ's redemption, in each moves the spirits blessing.
I choose life.

I accept God's gift of life in my times,
     in infant's cry, in childhood's wonder
     in trails of teen years and embrace of youth,
     in maturity's accomplishments and failures,
     in waning day's and night's negotiations.
Among the creatures with the breath of life within them,
God has placed the timeless in the human heart,
but not the reach to grasp or measure it.
     I choose life.

I accept God's gift of life in my dying,
in God's hands the shaping of the manner
by God's clock the counting of the hour.

May God who lays me down uphold me.
May Christ along the way companion me.
May spirit lift, and light billow me into the Resurrection.

God is life, and this I choose.