Pope Francis, representing Jesus the Good Shepherd, is authorizing the giving of blessings even to those who are in "irregular situations" as individuals or as couples, but without it resembling a marriage ritual - Isn't this confusing? If confusing; to whom is it confusing?

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian witnesses and writers in reflecting on life, encounters, and various situations, in a desire to enhance our understanding of what it means to be a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ at the service of the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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On December 18th, 2023, in an audience with Víctor Manuel Card. Fernández, Prefect, and Mons. Armando MATTEO, Secretary for the Doctrinal Section of the DICASTERY FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH, Pope Francis signed the following document in several languages: 

Declaration Fiducia Supplicans On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings

        Now, people are wondering and sending me questions and statements about what this really means and how it will play out in reality among us flawed human beings. Here follows an email exchange I have been having with one such seeker of the truth, goodness, and beauty of God. My reply is followed by the seeker's commentary and questioning.

The document itself in ENGLISH.... and in FRENCH 

Home page of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith 

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First of all, the best we can do is to prayerfully read the actual document itself. You will find links to the document in English and in French up above. 

My initial reply in this dialogue exchange and reflection.... 

We can be too quick to jump to conclusions and not take the time to understand what exactly is intended by these declarations and decisions by Pope Francis and the Vatican dicasteries.

What is a blessing?

I understand blessing first of all in its fundamental sense: to say good words. Jesus clearly expects us to do that unconditionally for anyone and everyone we meet, even enemies, and perhaps especially to enemies and those we may consider "unclean"; which is something Jesus reproached the Pharisees for refusing to do.

The spiritual dimension of a blessing

On a more spiritual or mystical level, to bless someone is to believe that when we do or say good to someone, God himself is the One who truly blesses. Every human being, even criminals, have a right to be blessed because God wants to bless them. A blessing is never an approval of sin, but aimed at the soul in order to lift it up closer to God.

In this particular case, people in irregular situations are already suffering to various degrees in their persons. The simple fact that they seek a blessing from the Church or from a priest, deacon, or bishop indicates that they in some true sense are calling out to the Lord. We have no grounds upon which to withhold a blessing from anyone who asks, no matter their condition. That is why Pope Francis keeps repeating that we should not subject them to exhaustive moral scrutiny and examination before even considering their request, or go so far as to subject them to a humiliating moral examination and judgment of their life and conditions as the Pharisees did. 

From the "ivory tower" and "glass castle" of their wealth, prestige, power, and authority; the Pharisees looked down upon people as "lesser human beings" and, for the most part, as "ritually unclean", that is, as not observing every last one of the 619 laws, rules, and prescriptions and interpretations of the commandments and prescriptions given by God to Moses for the people to observe in order to be righteous before God. 

Now, when a soul is asking for moral guidance or confession, well, that is clearly something else. Then we are certainly obliged to guide them through an examination of their conscience based on divine revelation and all that God wants them to know; so that they can adjust themselves and begin taking steps towards aligning themselves with God's will. They may not always be able to go the full distance all at once or even in their lifetime, but may be able to make progress over time, one step at a time. No one has any right to impose the full journey instantaneously on demand on anyone... the journey is intended by God to take a lifetime, whether that turns out to be long or short. No one has the right to insinuate themselves in between God and a soul... that territory belongs to God alone.

Blessings as sacraments

On a sacramental level, the blessing of couples as couples, especially in a ritual resembling marriage, can clearly only be given to a man and a woman, and even then, under the right circumstances and personal dispositions.

I find it sad when people at any level of status or condition in the Church react with great indignation to Pope Francis' determination to get the Church to stop being so judgmental, so Pharisaical, and turn around and become more pastoral in order to welcome people in their simple requests for a blessing. 

Jesus will one day return on the clouds as Judge to separate the sheep from the goats, but in the meantime, He presents Himself as the Good Shepherd. Every time Pope Francis calls on us to welcome people, regardless of their life situation, and in this case to give a blessing, he also makes it clear that for couples in irregular situations (still bound before God by a previous marriage, or both of the same gender, as in two men or two women, and so on), the blessing cannot resemble anything like a marriage ritual. He cannot make it clearer than that. 

We have no right to tell anyone that they don't belong and can't have access to God's blessing and mercy. Jesus keeps the door to Himself open, and no one has the right to slam it shut in anyone's face, no matter their condition or situation. Jesus made this clear to Sister Saint Faustina Kowalska when He made her the "Secretary of Divine Mercy" and told her how much his merciful love wants to pour itself out into souls; they have only to ask. 

However, none of us has the authority to change God's original plan for marriage and family. One husband married to one wife is God's ideal plan for the procreation and parenting of children. There is some wiggle room, as there was for Mary, who became pregnant with the Son of God by the action of the Holy Spirit. Joseph still married her, after the angel Gabriel told him the child was from the Holy Spirit, and he served Mary well as a good husband and Jesus as a "foster father". Joseph was the only earthly father that Jesus knew and loved. 

All this huffing and puffing by ecclesiastics and even lay people who take it on themselves to criticize and even condemn Pope Francis smacks of clericalism and moral superiority and is light years away from anything resembling humility; which is the only way to approach Almighty God. Such people show nothing but contempt for souls and the suffering of humanity and expose themselves as living in some kind of glass castle or ivory tower. They feel called to act as the great defenders of morality, the ten commandments, and the dignity of the Church and of God Himself, but they are deluded. 

God can and does take care of Himself and of his truth and doesn't need champions. It is enough for us to do as Jesus did and to teach and proclaim the truth, simply, and peacefully; letting people take it in and take the time they need to assimilate it and integrate it into their way of living and behaving towards others over their lifetime. Proclaiming the truth does not exempt us from the obligation to obey Jesus' command to love one another and to extend his mercy to others. 

It is wrong and might even be mortal sin to try to pound moral principles into people's hearts, minds, and souls as a complete package that they must absorb in its entirely NOW because WE DEMAND IT. Treating people this way objectifies them, reducing them to objects who must receive our demands. We then have no respect for the dignity God our Creator has given them as human beings. To make such declarations and demands with everyone on every occasion, every circumstance, at all times and in all places, is a pretence of moral righteousness. It puts obstacles in front of people as pre-conditions to receiving any and all services or blessings. This I believe is the entire point of Pope Francis' campaign to get the Church to become more pastoral, more welcoming, more humble like our Master the Good Shepherd; that is, to get out of the way of people seeking God and let them go to Him.

The Most Holy Trinity know in their infinite wisdom that human souls come only with great difficulty to the full knowledge, acceptance, and living of the truth, of goodness, and of beauty, and as St. Peter wrote in his letter, what appears to us as delay is God's patience shown to souls. He "wants none to perish, but all to come to repentance." Great will be the shock of those with rigid, judgmental minds when they draw their last breath and come into the overwhelming radiance of truth, goodness, beauty, justice, and mercy of the Love of the Most Holy Trinity. That first entry into God's Presence will be terribly embarrassing for many who are so convinced of their moral high ground in this life. That is why our merciful Father provides for the possibility of purification in Purgatory.... Thanks be to God for that. I will quite likely need it, and you may need it too. 

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The original query from a devout Catholic seeking clarity in these confusing times:

According to the latest document from the Vatican, under certain conditions couples in “irregular” (sinful?) situations and same-sex couples could receive blessings, provided these blessings don’t give the appearance of sacramental matrimony.

           Since the publication and promulgation of this document, cardinals, bishops, even entire episcopal conferences have stated that they will not implement such blessings.

           This brings to mind two approved apparitions and their prophecies – Fatima and Akita:

           From Fatima: Sr. Lucia of Fatima told Cardinal Carlo Caffarra that a "decisive battle between the kingdom of Christ and Satan will be over marriage and the family."

From Akita: On October 13, Mary then warned of the impending dangers for the Church.

"The work of the devil will infiltrate even into the Church in such a way that one will see cardinals opposing cardinals, bishops against bishops. The priests who venerate me will be scorned and opposed by their confreres...churches and altars sacked; the Church will be full of those who accept compromises and the demon will press many priests and consecrated souls to leave the service of the Lord.

           Folks – these prophecies have come true!

           Let us pray many rosaries of repentance and for the Holy Spirit to send us courageous cardinals, bishops, and priests who will lead us to our salvation by “preaching the Gospel in season and out of season”  (II Tim 4:2).

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Dialogue partner's reply to my response as above to the original quwry, eagerly seeking the truth and what is right and in accord with God's will:

Whatever is intended by Pope Francis in this or other writings/speeches he has made, there is almost always great confusion; his remarks, while well intentioned, can be taken many ways, and those include by enemies WITHIN the Church!  Lest we forget, Pope Paul VI had proclaimed that the smoke of Satan has entered the Church.

I’m absolutely sure that the Blessed Mother revealed the prophecies to Srs. Lucia and Agnes for our edification and salvation.  Well, here are the facts - cardinals and bishops ARE against each other; the issue of homosexuality has been in the background for a long time, including so-called “gay marriage”. Couples living together (“irregular situations”) without the sacrament of matrimony are living in sin. That is the teaching. It is the duty of every baptized Catholic to pray, regularly receive the sacraments, and encourage everyone to do the same. That is also the mission of the Church.

While the document takes great pains to differentiate a blessing from an endorsement of these “couples”, it is not clear what the purpose of this blessing is - a call to repentance?.../why people in such situations seek a blessing? Confusion!

Fatima and Akita are approved apparitions; the BVM does not lie! Sorry Gilles, but I strongly disagree. I continue to pray for all of the ordained.

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My further reply, also seeking God's will for us all: 

I frankly enjoy these dialogues with you, because you never lack for an expression of conviction. Still, on this Earth, I believe that none of us are capable of comprehending, let alone giving appropriate and just expression to, the complete and full wisdom of the Most Holy Trinity. The best we can do is mutter partialities, like the "ligue du vieux poêle" who make hockey commentaries fun.

The social upheaval of the 20th century

In our societies that were not devastated as were the "theatres of war" during WWII - there emerged a generalized selfishness due to the sudden prosperity of the 1950's, which we must remember was a result of society's mobilization for world war. This sudden prosperity creared a disparity between our society's values and the new "lifestyles of prosperity", which in turn caused a crisis in parenting. The new generations may not have understood it, but they observed the prosperity which came out of the business of killing people in war. 

We can understand how the young would have trouble with this disparity between responsible values their parents tried to pass on to them from the past and what they now saw as at times reckless living due to prosperity in the present. It would be untrue and unjust to shift the entire blame to these youth for becoming part of what is now seen as their irresponsible "teen age" demographic. These rapid changes were accompanied by the cultural, psychological, societal, and spiritual "explosion" of the 60's - this would include what is still called the "sexual revolution", which is ongoing today all over the world. 

All this upheaval ushered in what we could call a carefree abandon of morality and bold exploration of human boundaries inherent in civilized societies until then. Going beyond the boundaries, demolishing them, and substituting other values or even anti-values went on throughout the 70's, 80's, 90's and even until today. Many are those who have lost any bearing to the truth or any moral compass, and legion perhaps are those who never had the benefit of even hearing about a moral compass or direction, meaning, or purpose for their life.

The outbreak of scandals in the past three decades

However, much of what we have seen of scandalous sin in recent decades was already there to some degree, but was hypocritically hidden behind carefully starched collars and fine lace. Divine Providence has allowed the past century to happen for God's divine kind purposes. One reason people rebelled against the morality of their parents and society is because until then it had been imposed, without much room for questioning or understanding. You recall how in the 1950's we had to render our memorized catechism answers, complete with correct punctuation. Questions were not allowed, and understanding was deemed unnecessary. Only blind obedience was required. 

This entire approach to the education and formation of the young and of evangelization was wrong. God does not impose his will on us; that is not his way. The ways of the Lord are not our ways. Rather, his ways are more like the behaviour of the farmer who watches and waits for the crop to arise on its own. It is true that obedience is the highway to communion with the Most Holy Trinity, but God wants our obedience to be not blind, but freely and gladly given, and with increasing understanding. 

The authoritative Church past did not help people face life's challenges with free will 

In times past, the Magisterium behaved much like a hammer, and when you're a hammer, everything becomes a nail. For centuries, the documents emerging from councils were long lists of condemnations to hell. In Québec, if people have abandoned the Church, it is manifestly because for centuries the Church failed to mentor people toward love of God; failing to direct people to grow to moral maturity and learn to make their own right choices, attitudes, and behaviours, as well as works. For this to have happened, it would have been necessary for the Church to accept the risk that people would make mistakes, which God does with us.

When you apply unrelenting pressure, you prepare the way for an inevitable explosion. This is a law of nature. No matter what stance a pope takes, there will always be plenty of those around who will misinterpret and wreak havoc; which is the way of the enemy of humanity, ever ready to exploit us at our weakest point.

Thankfully, the landscape of the Church was not entirely bleak. There were some religious teachers and some pastors with greater maturity, autonomy of mind, understanding and wisdom of heart; who did in fact mentor other religious, pastors, and also parents. They taught them not only to understand the Word of God and the Church's teachings and Tradition, but also to apply the truth to life and to think and take responsibility for themselves. 

Reality is complex and we need to let Jesus be Lord 

As usual, this discourse cannot but go around in circles unless we admit that the reality is far more complex than can be delineated in a few paragraphs. For my part, I cling to the belief that the Lord Jesus is not on vacation, nor asleep; nor has he retired or quit. He remains Lord of Lords and King of Kings, but also the Good Shepherd. Both are true: God's divine justice and his divine mercy. His mercy is just and his justice is merciful. We cannot attempt to have one without the other.

One thing seems certain: there is no going back to a Church with which the Pharisees would have been most comfortable or would have admired - a Church wherein the "righteous" from on high in their ivory or glass towers and rich palaces condemn all the "unclean" - and see themselves as superior to the rest of humanity, "the great crowd of the unwashed". Jesus died to manifest the hollow emptiness of that attitude and approach, and I believe He will not tolerate his Church emulating or trying to go back to that hypocritical backwardness.

God wants all to be saved and we had best not hinder his efforts

Yes, Pope Francis is trying to convey to both clergy and laity alike, to unbelievers and atheists, and to all, that God is both just and merciful - that Marriage is only between one man and one woman for life in all fidelity and chastity - but that all those unable or unwilling to enter into that mode of living still remain children of God, whom He loves, and for whom Jesus died and rose again. Therefore, all can approach in their search for God and seek a blessing, or guidance, or confession, or Christian initiation. 

We may fool humans for a time, but no one can fool God 

If any attempt to approach with a false conscience or in a futile attempt to extract from the Church anything for which it has no authority to grant; then they may fool humans for a while, but they will never be able to fool God. When the ultimate and terrifying moment comes for us to find ourselves face to face with the Almighty, the Creator of the universe; then all pretense will fall away, and the soul will find itself irremediably naked before the Divine Scrutiny, which is both just and merciful. What will happen then will depend a lot on the soul's disposition. If it still refuses to bend to the Divine Will, it will opt for hell with all the rebellious angels and other human souls in that frame of conscience.

If it accepts to humbly bend to and make room for the Divine Will but is still too embarrassed to endure the intense and radiant Divine Love, it will opt to remove itself for a time from that blazing light and heat and find refuge in Purgatory; for as long as it takes for it to fully embrace the Divine Will, Truth and Goodness, Justice, Mercy, and Love.

For those who are already there, they will hear: "Beloved of my Father, enter into your divine inheritance. Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into your Master's Joy." 

As my lively dialogue partner has indicated, we had best pray to God - and ask our Blessed Mother Mary to intercede for us sinners, for all of humanity - so that we may all come to the knowledge and love of God. 

See 2 Peter 3:8-10; Ephesians 3:19-21; 4:13-16; 1 Timothy 2:1-6

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My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian witnesses and writers in reflecting on life, encounters, and various situations, in a desire to enhance our understanding of what it means to be a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ at the service of the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2024 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2024 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Understanding and discernment as well as LOVE versus LAW - coming to understand the "ways of the Lord"

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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A recent CNA (Catholic News Agency) headline reads:

Theologian resigns from USCCB committee after publishing letter to Pope Francis

It is not the first time that controversy erupts over Pope Francis and what he says or does. Confusion often results from controversy, and it usually involves disputes over content, i.e., what Pope Francis says or does. There could be many reasons for such controversy and confusion, but I would like to explore only a few that often may not even be considered.

When we react to something, our reactions say as much if not more about us 

than about that to which we are reacting. 

Saint Thomas Aquinas was a brilliant Medieval philosopher who wrote that when we receive or know something, we receive or know it according to the mode by which we receive or know it. To illustrate with a ridiculous example, if I wear pink colored glasses, then everything I see will look pink.

There are many factors which have an important influence on how we perceive and come to know the reality around us, other people, and what others say and do.

(1) UNDERSTANDING - See Kohlberg's six stages of moral development

It is not difficult to understand how differently people interpret what they perceive when we consider what stage of moral and personality development they have achieved. To return to our subject, Pope Francis will be understood differently by people at different stages of moral development.

1. At the lowest level, someone whose primary preoccupation in life is avoiding punishment will want to know how Pope Francis' words and actions will help them avoid punishment or not. They may not find his appeals to conscience reassuring and would prefer him to be much more categorical and dispell any doubt about outcomes they may expect in various situations.

2. At a little higher level of moral development, a person will want to know "What's in it for me?" They could be encouraged by Pope Francis' warmth, understanding, and hospitality, but then they could also find discouraging his emphasis on paying attention to the needs of others.

3. As people enter into more conventional behavior, they want to be accepted by others; so they want to be sure that by following Pope Francis they will be accepted by others, but they could be unsettled by signs of resistance or opposition to Pope Francis' words or actions and the apparent disunity.

4. With further moral development people show concern for law and order. For this reason, they may be disturbed by any impression that Pope Francis misses opportunities to lay down the law or leaves any room for disagreement with the law or for other interpretations.

5. Beyond simple convention, people come to understand and embrace the notion of joint responsibility, and they adopt as their orientation "the social contract". At this point, they may more easily understand that Pope Francis is trying to inspire people to take responsibility for themselves and for others, and act for the common good. On the other hand, they can also go the other way and be confused when Pope Francis appears to give people too much latitude.

6. Finally, people who continue to develop their conscience enter into the realm of universal ethical principles, and at this point they discover and defend the sovereignty of the individual moral conscience. They recognize that the individual conscience becomes more enlightened as it adopts universal principles that bring it into solidarity with all of humanity. At the highest levels of moral development people become self-directing and self-disciplines; whereby they decide for themselves to follow moral principles and no longer need to be threatened or coerced into compliance. 

Perhaps this is the perspective that can best help one understand Pope Francis and what he is trying to do. Human beings need time to understand their place in the world, their relationship with others, with God, and with the world around them. Experiencing the love of God is the most powerful motivator drawing people to show love to others in return. Service motivated by love that is selfless is manifestly more authentic, its fruits are more likely to last longer, and life changes will tend to be permanent.

People who have experienced less moral conscience development show the greatest need for clarity. They want everything to be clearly spelled out in black and white. People with more developed conscience have come to understand that life is complex and usually involves many factors.

By this time more attention to detail is required, and they recognize that in each individual case and situation people must have the freedom as well as the responsibility to gather information so as to more fully understand the situation and apply to it the full understanding of their conscience, which by now takes into consideration the good of the individual as well as the common good, and particular circumstances as well as universal principles.

Societies have police forces in order to "bring back into line" those people whose moral development is insufficient to keep them travelling on the "narrow way" of serving the common good of all. 

We can understand how people could be unhappy with Pope Francis' open attitudes and declarations. Some want everything to be fully spelled out and are very uncomfortable when they are not. Pope Francis knows that people who want clear and simple answers can find them in the Catechism of the Catholic Church; so he doesn't need to repeat those texts and takes them for granted. He prefers to address the requirements of love and mercy beyond the simple demands of justice, much as Jesus set himself to do during his short time of ministry.

When Pope Francis is talking with real people in real situations, he trusts everyone to observe and be informed, to pray for God's guidance, and to come to the best decision they can. When they make mistakes, he is confident that as they remain open to God, then God will guide them to more and more understanding of the whole truth. In reality, none of us - or at least very few of us - are fully capable of embracing the whole truth about everything, especially about ourselves, and rarely all at once. It is rather over time that we can come into the full knowledge of the truth.

God's "economy of salvation" takes our human condition into consideration and by his divine mercy provides us with sufficient time to embrace more and more of the truth moment by moment and day by day until we come into the full knowledge of the truth in Jesus his only begotten Son. Saint Peter taught that God is not delaying bringing down judgement upon humanity; rather, He is being patient. 

"8 But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. 9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed." 2 Peter 3: 8-10

(2) DISCERNMENT - Is ours a healthy or an unhealthy human condition?

Even such simple notions as "dying to self" or "mortification" can be understood or misunderstood according to a person's condition of health. A scrupulous person can be almost incapable of really understanding spiritual realities because their scrupulous turn of mind acts like a shield blocking any light from penetrating their spirit. For some people their obsession with detail can lead to unhealthy feelings of guilt that have no foundation in reality but are rather conjured up in their misguided conscience. The attendant anxiety has nothing to do with God and actually hinders people from being open and receptive to what God is doing and the loving relationship He offers.

When such a person tries to put into practice what they hear in the church about doing penance, they set out to put various actions into practice. However, their practices don't set them free to become more loving to neighbor and enemy alike; instead, their scrupulosity causes their new practices to make them even more self-obsessed.

Before an unhealthy person can truly navigate successfully deeper spiritual paths, they must first apply everything they hear to their unhealthy condition. If they are to renounce anything in order to "die to themselves", the very first thing they need to renounce is their scrupulosity. Once they become healthy again, they will enjoy clearer vision and be more likely to correctly understand what they hear about spiritual things.

This factor could also explain why some people react so differently to Pope Francis.

(3) The Law of LOVE versus the Law of punishable offenses

Saint Paul spent most of his apostolic ministry trying to help people differentiate between the Torah and the Jewish observance of God's laws, on the one hand, and on the other hand, Jesus' teaching about the Law of Love, i.e., the "Great Commandment".

The issue revolves around the question: "How are we justified?" or "How do we become pleasing to God?" or "How are we to be saved?" and an almost infinite variation of perspective on this question.

The Law - the Decalogue (10 words) which God gave to his people through Moses - and the infinity of  developing interpretations and applications of this Law in the lives of real people were intended by God to develop his people's consciences, because they had turned away from Him, just as Adam and Eve had turned away from Him in the garden of Eden.

There can be no reconciliation between God and human beings until people begin to recognize the ways in which they are offending God's love or turning away from him by turning inwards on themselves and ignoring their neighbor.

God is a selfless, loving, merciful, and life-giving, self-bestowing Being, and as long as we remain self-centered; then we can have little to do with God, let alone any kind of relationship.

However, the fault and failure happens when human beings get the notion that by following the Law they can be saved or acquire advantage from God or even exercise some measure of control over God and his behaviour towards them. In such a case, we observe the Law in order to "extract" from God the benefits we want. God becomes a vending machine and all I have to do is put in the coins of following the Law and He has to give me....

God knows that if He allows us to manipulate Him, we will self-destruct and will never enter into any kind of relationship with Him, which is the purpose for which He created us in the first place.

Enter Jesus on the human stage. Jesus insists on initiating a personal relationship and on personal responsibility. Jesus shows unheard of respect for the individual's conscience. He shows Love in person and patiently waits for people to respond to Love feely and willingly. In the end, Jesus lays down his life in order to demonstrate the true quality of God's love for human beings. God loves the person and is willing to overlook and forgive the faults.

This means that God the Father's offer of salvation - the restoration of our relationship of communion with God that was lost by Adam and Eve - is a priceless gift freely offered. To accept his gift implies and entails a change of mind, heart, soul, and life. To accept to be saved by Jesus means to enter into a new way of living, to live as He lived and showed us how to live, in communion with God and in solidarity with human beings and all of humanity.

The Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, and Priests were the different classes among the religious elite and authorities in Jesus' day. They insisted on literal observance of the Law and for the most part showed little or no patience, understanding, or compassion to individual people in the face of the difficulties they had in observing the whole Law all of the time under every circumstance.

Their hard and fast attitude permanently estranged from the Temple large segments of the population who did not have sufficient revenue or domestic help in order to fulfill the complex requirements of the Law in all of the religious establishment's interpretations and applications for everyday life. Jesus was most interested to reach out to all those who were in such ways excluded to bring them the good news that God was not excluding them but inviting them to enter in.

Today we have such "extremely religious" people in the Church who show the same hardness of heart and unrelenting insistence on external observance of the law and have little patience for real people.

The religious leaders of Jesus' day were not capable of understanding the divine mercy offered by God and embodied in Jesus to bring forgiveness, healing, and life to all his children. Similarly, in our day there are so many people who show themselves incapable of understanding the divine mercy for which Pope Francis has been given to us by God as a new witness. Pope Francis strives to be faithful to Jesus and to proclaim in fresh ways for our times the new life Jesus brought to Earth.

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Controversy and confusion over Pope Francis & "Amoris Laetitia" Part 1 - Many are uncomfortable with God's mercy and prefer to "lay down the law".

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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There is no denying that currently in the Roman Catholic Church there has come to light some disagreement - even at the highest levels among bishops and cardinals - over some of Pope Francis' writing, speaking, and teaching. Since Pope Francis' election I've been observing how people tend to divide in how they understand or feel about Pope Francis, his words, actions, attitudes, teaching, speaking, writing, and demeanor. This was already happening before "Amoris Laetitia" and only increasing with time. Given popular support for Pope Francis, however, it was difficult for those who, for various reasons, opposed him to do so openly, or at least, without substantial grounds. This has changed.

Previously, a year or two before "Amoris Laetitia" came out, a thought occurred to me that what was happening around Pope Francis resembled what first happened around Jesus. Not only that, but I remembered Jesus' warning that the very same that was happening to Him would also happen to all who follow Him and try to carry out the mission with which He was entrusting them, and now, us.

Jesus stated He did not come to change or abolish the law but to fulfill it, that is, assure that it was effective in accomplishing its purpose, which is, namely, to bring his people back to God. Jesus accused the Pharisees and Sadducees, lawyers and scribes, and Temple priests of not only not doing that, but He actually accused them of making it even more difficult for his people to return to the Lord. They set insurmountable obstacles that only the wealthy and powerful could hope to accomplish, with all their servants bearing the brunt for them, of all the legally and meticulously defined burdens.

He accused them of being only superficially concerned with God's law, while simultaneously being far away from the heart of the law, which, Jesus reminded them, was about the love of God and of neighbor. He even gave them a little "shock therapy" with his parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee who both went in to pray. Jesus did not show the tax collector as finally repentant and definitively turning away from all sin, but only as humble in his confession and plea for mercy. Nevertheless, He said, the tax collector went away justified while the "ritually pure" Pharisee did not. Luke 18:9-14

In the current confusion and controversy over the issue of whether people in irregular marriage situations or situations of adultery, it seems to me that among all those who participate in or contribute to the discussion and writing, very few if any are focusing on Jesus' own diagnosis of what was going on in all of the opposition He was facing in his time. It seems to me that what is actually happening now is directly related to the trouble Jesus stirred up. I believe Jesus would say to us that we are more concerned with the keeping of the law than we are with the return of sinners to God's mercy.

Just after the call of Matthew, tax collectors and sinners sat at dinner with Jesus and his disciples and the Pharisees challenged "his disciples: 'Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?' But when he heard this, he said, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.'" Matthew 9:10-13 In addition the evangelists give abundant testimony to Jesus' inclination to forgive sins and pardon sinners, even when that is not what they asked for, but only a healing or deliverance.

In each instance, Jesus read the minds and hearts of people, because, although "many believed in his name because they saw the signs that he was doing... Jesus on his part would not entrust himself to them because he know all people and needed no one to testify about anyone; for he himself knew what was in everyone." John 2:23-25 Jesus, like the Father, distinguishes between those who are superficially coming to God and those who are coming with their whole heart, those who have an appetite for signs from those who hunger and thirst for truth, justice, and mercy, those who want to be considered pure from those who truly long to be pure.

There was no contradiction in Jesus publicly teaching the truth while receiving people in such a way that He risked giving impression that in practice He eased the repentance of sinners and kept the company even of those sinners not yet ready to repent. He wanted everyone to come to know the love of the Father; so that the time for them to return to the Father might be hastened. Jesus' inclination was to teach the truth publicly, while at the same time, He extended the divine mercy to individuals as He came across them, one at a time. Later He instructed the twelve and then the seventy-two to go out and do the same. "'Freely you have received; freely give.'" Matthew 10:8

In the face of the religious and secular culture of his time, and in light also of his opposition, Jesus warned all who heard him against casting judgements. "'Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgement you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get.'" Then He gives the well known image of criticizing a neighbor for having a speck in his eye all the while having a plank in our own, hindering our sight. Jesus tells us to see to and look after our own soul first, always first, and to approach others as He does, with humility, respect, kindness, and understanding; which is love.

Pope Francis has spoken and written frequently about the inclination of some to take refuge behind the letter of the law, to assure at all times that the Church never tires of dogmatically repeating moral teaching and continually dictates the application of that teaching in all instances, lest there be allowed to linger any doubts in the minds and hearts of people. Whenever Pope Francis addresses clerics, both bishops and priests, he keeps calling on us to get close enough to the faithful to "acquire the smell of the sheep", that is, not to fear to "get dirty" as a result of getting close enough to them to be troubled by their troubles, to be moved to weep with those who weep, and to be lifted up to laugh with those who laugh.

In his letter to the Romans, chapter 12, verses 9ff, St Paul describes the "marks of the true Christian", including that we should "rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep." v. 12 We accept generally that St Paul was correctly interpreting Jesus' complaint regarding "this generation. It is like children sitting in the market-places and calling to one another. 'We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we wailed, and you did not mourn.'" Matthew 11:16-17 People criticized both John the Baptist and Jesus, because of the hardness of their hearts. They were not moved by John to repent and they would not let Jesus lift them up to the loving and merciful view of the Father. In rejecting Jesus they were rejecting the one who sent Him. Luke 10:16

We can't have it both ways. We can't take shelter behind the fortress of "the law" and at the same time mingle with the sheep in the hope of leading them to proper pasture. Jesus used the image of sheep intentionally, we are sure. They are strong willed and follow their nose, which leads them constantly into trouble whenever the shepherd gets distracted to takes a snooze. Jesus urged shepherds not to beat the sheep but to carry them tenderly. I believe that Pope Francis is telling all of us, in no uncertain terms, that we must put aside the era of dogmatic formulations and wholesale condemnations and "get dirty", get closer to the sheep and identify with them and, by winning their trust through mercy, succeed in leading them - some more quickly but others by degrees - to pasture.

If Pope Francis continues to ignore the challenge wrapped in respectability by by such words, attitudes, and actions as the "Dubia", with all due respect to the esteemed authors of those texts; it seems clear that he is ignoring it for the same reasons Jesus chose to have as little to do as possible with the Pharisees and other religious leaders and influential people. Jesus knew that as long as they persisted in their legalistic mindset they would never understand nor accept Him nor what He was saying and doing. He knew that, in the end, they would commit deicide. God simply exceeds our human categories and parameters, but we keep trying to "tame" Him and "squeeze" Him into our nice, neat, little categories. We keep doing that because we are afraid and we need to find reassurance of our own likelihood to be saved by clearly defining all those who will be damned.

More recently Pope Francis has said that he believes those who insist on demanding clearer formulations in the interest of the well being of the faithful are in fact more likely to be hiding behind that respectable facade to conceal their own need for clarity, and they are doing that because, fundamentally, we human beings stopped trusting in God. Isn't that what happened with the original sin? Since then we prefer our own opinions and judgements and are loath to accept those of the Lord. We don't want to wait to let God sort it all out, we want to sort it out ourselves, and we want to do it now.

So what is really going on here, in this controversy and confusion over chapter 8 of "Amoris Laetitia"? I believe that it is a contest between the divine view and the human view. The divine view got Jesus killed, and it seems now likely that it may obtain the destruction - in one form or another - of Pope Francis; in which case he will have the joy of sharing in Jesus' passion to the very bitter end. There can never be compromise or accommodation between these two views, the divine and the human. Either we persist in our limited human view and continue to kill God in the souls of people or else we humble ourselves and get with God's program and follow the lead of the Good Shepherd. It has to be one or the other, we cannot have both, and having it our way only leads to death for ourselves and as many as we lead away from the Good Shepherd's voice.

While all of us in the comfort of our homes, studies, offices, churches, rectories, computer screens and keyboards, and all other "fortresses" continue to add fuel to this confusion and controversy; in the meantime people are suffering the ravages of our secular age, often with no one willing to stop and care like the "good Samaritan". People carry the wounds of neglected parenting while both their parents worked and abandoned the full time burden of forming, humanizing, and loving their children. In other instances, separated and divorced parents oversee damage done to their children while they struggled to "find happiness". The true litany of woes is only becoming longer and more complex as civilization as we know it disintegrates all around us.

In "Laudato Si" Pope Francis dared to formulate a judgement on our society, which many believe to be God's own judgement, that our social apparatus, ways of doing, institutions, attitudes, and way of life is almost entirely articulated around the absolute value given to "the dollar" or whatever currency is local; while the human person in all its dignity and rights is made subservient. From the beginning the Creator intended it to be the other way around, but we resist even the remote possibility of this truth, let alone doing anything to change it. This is one of the facets of what original sin looks like in our own day. Until the end of the world we will never be able to escape struggling with it, against it, but God wants us to do it with his help and following his guidance.

However we are all, myself included, collectively and personally squirming, I believe, when we hear what Pope Francis says, read what he writes, and see what he does. I believe we would not be much more troubled if Jesus came and walked among us again in Person. We are not much better than his contemporaries were, even if we would prefer to think better of ourselves than the religious leaders of Judea. The longer we continue to resist trusting Pope Francis, the longer we refuse to pay attention to the "whole perspective" of what he is saying, writing, and doing, the longer we will continue to crucify Christ all over again, and we do it for the very same reasons they did it the first time. To be fair though, now we can sincerely believe that we have the best interests of the faithful at heart by insisting that no one in the circumstances of adultery should approach the sacraments, ever. We can be sincere but quite wrong.

It is not a coincidence that Pope Francis gave us the "Jubilee Year of Mercy". How is it that we fail to take this into consideration, as in 'been there, done that'? Why do we so resist taking on ourselves the characteristics of God's own divine mercy? I believe we are fundamentally afraid to entrust ourselves, our lives, our Church, our society, and our world to God. We believe He will mess it up. So we take refuge behind Jesus' reiteration of the Genesis revelation about marriage in the face of challenges regarding divorce. We ensconce ourselves firmly in Jesus' own teaching about adultery and who commits it. Then we go on to ignore his shepherd's attitude and behavior in caring for the sheep and the lambs. We do it because we are uncomfortable to hold both at the same time. We don't want to wait for God to judge when it is time. We want to cast judgement now.

I believe that many in the Church have still not accepted as genuine and as pastoral inspirations from the Holy Spirit such declarations by Pope Francis as:

"our church doors should be open" - the Eucharist "is not a prize for the perfect, but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak" - "God save us from a worldly Church with superficial spiritual and pastoral trappings" - "This I ask you: be shepherds, with the 'odour of the sheep', make it real, as shepherds among your flock, fishers of men. True enough, the so-called crisis of priestly identity threatens us all and adds to the broader cultural crisis; but if we can resist its onslaught, we will be able to put out in the name of the Lord and cast our nets." (Chrism Mass homily March 28, 2013) - "the Church is called to be a 'field hospital' with doors wide open" Cf full quote following...

Homily of Pope Francis in the Vatican Basilica on October 4th, 2015 at the Holy Mass for the opening of the XIV Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

"And the Church is called to carry out her mission in charity, not pointing a finger in judgment of others, but – faithful to her nature as a mother – conscious of her duty to seek out and care for hurting couples with the balm of acceptance and mercy; to be a "field hospital" with doors wide open to whoever knocks in search of help and support; even more, to reach out to others with true love, to walk with our fellow men and women who suffer, to include them and guide them to the wellspring of salvation.

A Church which teaches and defends fundamental values, while not forgetting that "the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mk 2:27); and that Jesus also said: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mk 2:17). A Church which teaches authentic love, which is capable of taking loneliness away, without neglecting her mission to be a good Samaritan to wounded humanity." 

I understand Pope Francis to be calling us away from shoving a burdensome moral code incessantly at people so as to instead go back to proclaiming the essentials of God's mercy as Jesus did. Then, as people encounter God's mercy, He will manifest his sovereignty in their lives and set his light in them and, in his time but not our time, they will see that light and feel moved to amend their ways. That will be for them the day of salvation, which is always God's day and not our own.

This is a good shepherd's approach, not beating the sheep into submission - as all too often we have as Church done in the past (think only of the Spanish Inquisition which some people apparently would want restored in our day). A bad shepherd uses elements of the Gospel as a club to coerce submission (as we accuse of radical Muslims trying to do); but a good shepherd proposes the good news for what it fundamentally is: God loves us so much He sent his Son among us, to live our life and suffer our death, to get our attention and win our hearts, minds, and souls; so that we may freely, humbly, and gratefully respond to his outpouring of divine life for us.

In conclusion, are we going to see an "easy fix" anytime soon? I don't think so. However we must all of us face the real issue at hand, namely, will we humble ourselves to pay attention to what God is doing in our time through the person and ministry of Pope Francis, or will we continue to fortify our fortresses and press to clear definitions of the law; as did the religious leaders of Jesus' day who in the end put Him to death? Do we secretly covet the removal of Pope Francis? This is a question that each of us must answer.

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Pope Francis vs critics = mercy vs legalism - People have trouble holding to both the truth and mercy as God has always done towards us.

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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April 8, 2016 Pope Francis released the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation "Amoris Laetitia", "The joy of love experienced by families...".

This past Fall some cardinals have challenged Pope Francis to clarify what appears to them, and undoubtedly to others, some confusion over his formulations which could be seen to contradict all previous teaching by the Church on moral questions, most notably whether people separated or divorced and currently in a new marital situation might be admitted to the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion.

Whatever discussion and confusion may have already existed seems to have been exacerbated by the open publication in November by these cardinals of the text they had previously sent privately to Pope Francis and to which he did not respond. The open discussions from any and all points of view have since proliferated all over the web and social media.

Are all those engaging in these quasi public discussions stating that all of us are to be permitted only one way of treating these questions, that is, by theological discourse, allowing us to utter only clear and categorical statements about morality, such as are to be found in university classrooms?

Are then such categorical dogmatic statements to be the only approach to human beings, regardless of the venue or situation, such as was the practice of the Pharisees in Jesus' day? The logical outcome is that we take upon ourselves the prerogative of God the only true judge and we push this dogmatic discourse to its logical conclusion and pass judgment on each and every human being in any and all possible human life situations, said judgment to be summarily declared on the sole basis of such dogmatic definitions? Then we would no longer recognize God as the only just judge by taking judgment on ourselves, as did the Pharisees who felt quite perfectly justified in carrying out the prescriptions of the Torah in stoning anyone found in any situation of objectively grave sin.

Theoretical or theological discourses on moral issues are one thing, but the treatment of real human beings in the course of daily living is quite another.

If we are not to go the way of the Pharisees, who were quite content to condemn anyone who "stepped out of line" - showing no sign of compassion or of any feeling whatsoever besides the smug satisfaction of "nailing the sinner" - but instead are to follow Jesus' example and teaching; how are we then to understand his ready association with commonly recognized "public sinners"?

His practice of not passing judgment on anyone had as its only exception to contradict the Pharisees when they were on the point of executing the accused while challenging his authority. Jesus did say to that one woman and to a few others "go and sin no more" but He did not make a practice of going around passing judgment of even simply saying "go and sin no more" to everyone. Rather, he left people to their own devices, free will, and conscience to come to righteousness in natural course, asking only that people follow the great commandment of love. About judgement He said "judge not lest you be judged".

I don't necessarily agree with what the bishops of Malta have done, but then again I am not familiar with what pastoral challenges they are trying to address. What I do wonder about is what is this "itch" that people increasingly seem to have to day for wanting nothing but categorical definitions and, in extension, the clear condemnation of all those who don't appear to abide by or fit those definitions? Are people so afraid of employing their own conscience that they need to rely primarily on the universal application of clear dogmatic declarations?

I seem to recall that this is what constituted medieval society: clear definitions of right and wrong, summary judgment of anyone accused of not fitting in, and rapid execution or other punishment of those found guilty. In such a society it was highly possible for people to be externally observant of morality while within they cultivated all manner of evil, and for others to be caught in flagrant error while harboring within them an otherwise innocent and loving spirit and life. This was not much different from the Pharisaical outlook of Jesus' day.

Even in the Old Testament, the Jewish Scriptures, as it is to be found in the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel in chapter 18, when the Lord reveals his own approach and attitude that it is not until the final moment that a soul reveals its true and inherent malice or justice. God does not judge by appearances or by external circumstances - are we have such an appetite to do - but He rather looks at the heart.

The Scriptures are clear about God's justice and clear denunciation of evil and sin, on the one hand, and on the other hand, the Scriptures are replete with God's declarations of patience and mercy towards sinners; lest any be lost. But then again we humans tolerate with great difficulty any semblance of ambiguity and much prefer to drag people to the guillotine. I recall that since the French Revolution the criminal code in France holds guilty anyone accused by simple virtue of their being accused, putting the burden of proof on the accused to demonstrate their innocence. If unable to do so, however innocent they may be, they are submitted to the full rigor of the law.

The new trend in the Catholic Church seems to be to want to bring this French legalism into the life and practice of the Church. I shudder at the thought of it.

We can always rely on our Church and its magisterium to teach with clarity what Jesus taught, but we also look to her to teach and to practice the mercy that Jesus introduced and for which He was killed. We are inclined to forget how difficult it was the first time for Jesus to introduce mercy in a society which could only tolerate legalism. Not much has changed it seems, and as the opposition to Pope Francis demonstrates, it is just as difficult now as then to try to introduce God's own attitude of mercy with justice or justice with mercy in our own day.

We thankfully still grasp the difference between dogma and revelation, between acts of magisterium and the Sacred Scriptures, between words of the Church and the Word of God. It is only right and reasonable to agree on this point. Jesus' teaching was and is clear.

What cannot be so clear is how we bring one person at a time to hear and grasp Jesus' teaching and then apply it to their own lived situation in the free exercise of their own will and conscience as opposed to us, or whoever is in dialogue with them, coming down hard on them with a categorical definition of sin and declaration that they are in that sin now.

Are we to talk to people as judge, jury, and executioner, or are we to walk with them as fellow sinners on the journey towards holiness and do what we can so that they can begin to perceive the light that is shining on the face of Jesus and freely choose to walk, to take steps, towards that light?

When we talk with others, this personal discourse takes place in a matter of minutes or perhaps extended over some days or weeks. God's dealings with each of us stretch out over our lifetimes. Who are we to force people to digest compressed in a short time what we ourselves have experienced as God's patience and learned as God's truth over our lifetime?

This then is no longer public discourse but the new evangelization. Part of this universal effort is about the need for the Church to present to the world both a clear rendering for today of what Jesus always teaches, on the one hand, and on the other hand, a clear statement for today of what Jesus brought as a practical and personal introduction to the mercy of God, which He incarnates.

The discourses of truth and mercy are clearly very different while being complementary and both necessary because they are essential parts of the one reality of the life given to us by God to live as his children and not as orphans or pagans or the damned. We cannot squeeze one discourse into the methods or timing of the other without doing irreparable harm to real, live, breathing human beings, sinners all; as are we ourselves.

It seems that the difficult coexistence of these two discourses is a primary cause of the ambivalence, tension, and even in some cases hysteria which we observe happening in this worldwide discourse over human sexuality, marriage, and family which has been going on since before Venerable Pope Paul VI released his Encyclical "Humanae Vitae" - "The transmission of human life...."

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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Why do people destroy plants, torture animals, or hurt other people?

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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Why indeed do some people wreak such violence, hurt, and destruction around them? People who destroy nature or other living things are manifesting on the outside the disturbance they carry on the inside.... If they do seem to enjoy their destructive behaviour it may only be because for a moment they feel powerful rather than powerless, or for a moment at least, they have forgotten the misery of their life or circumstances.

God doesn't make junk and, because of the original sin, and the influence of the demons / rebellious angels, people twist other people out of shape, especially the young and innocent. Usually, this is because someone or something twisted them out of shape earlier. That hurt deep within them is crying out for healing, but in the absence or delay of healing, the pain calls out for action, any action.... Revenge is a real temptation for us humans, and even the thought of it can be quite intoxicating, enough to make you dizzy for a moment, like looking over a balcony on a tall building.

When they grow up they carry their wounds with them and, not knowing how to be healed or set free, they lash out on anything beautiful, good, loving, kind, or gentle because seeing such wonders they only remind them of their own misery; so, like those who killed the Son of God, they leave a trail of destruction behind. That is exactly what happened to Jesus... He, the perfect One, the divine only begotten Son of the heavenly Father, Love in Person.... All those who nurtured sinful desires in themselves felt reprimanded by the very presence of Jesus, let alone any of his words or his compassionate look. They could not stand the sight of Him and surrendered themselves to the compulsion, the obsession to kill Him.

With the merciful Heart of Jesus we can understand why Jesus commanded us to pray for enemies and desire good for those who do harm, because God loves them too and weeps for them as He does for all his wayward children.

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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The Cross: when I freely accept to suffer for you, your burden is lightened and new possibilities open up.

My purpose in these posts is to bring a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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Today is what we have called for over a millenium in the Roman Catholic Church the solemnity of Corpus Christi, or of the Body and Blood of Christ. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, He decided not to leave us orphans, and did three important things. He left us a means of remaining in touch with Him as still present on the earth - the Holy Eucharist - which at the same time is spiritual food transforming us with "transfusions of divine life". The second thing He did was, in giving us Himself as eternal food in his Eucharistic Body and Blood, to make his Apostles into Priests and Bishops; so that they might continue to do what He had just done and to do it in his memory. The third great thing which Jesus did was to join the Father in sending down upon us the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, who enables us to live and act in communion with Jesus as He lived and acted when He walked among us. 

Countless personal experiences and observations of others have convinced me of Jesus' True and Real Presence in the consecrated bread and wine, which have become and will continue to be (as long as the elements remain visibly bread and wine) the Body and Blood of Christ. It was a delight to parade around the church grounds with a monstrance putting the large Host on display, witnesses before the world of the "True Bread which has come down from heaven." 

What attention to detail and energetic planning, followed by intensive preparation, collaboration, and nervous anticipation we invested in upcoming liturgies (church celebrations) and projects when I was in the seminary participating in preparation for priesthood. The intensity was similar when I was involved for some thirteen years in a week-long summer camp for adults - it was called "Manna Camp" - that provided a week of Christian fellowship, conferences, outdoor activity, recreation, silent contemplation, and sheer fun. 

As I look back on my day, I remember those times, as well as my initial shock on entering into parish ministry, when I discovered that it simply wasn't possible to invest such prodigious quantities of time and energy in liturgies that came back every week, and even every day. Over the years, parish ministry became an at times difficult but always rewarding and ongoing formation. As I learned to receive the collaboration of lay people, I picked up the skill of discerning what liturgies required more intensity of planning and preparation; while all the others were nonetheless fruitful and beautiful in the simple and spontaneous orchestration of all the participants. The "Liturgy" - "Leitourgia" - truly is the "work of the people" of God with Jesus as our Head, a priestly people. 

I discovered with delight that it is really true - Jesus, risen from the dead, really is the Messiah and the Lord - Jesus Christ actually is the living Head of a body composed of all the baptized, among whom I am a member. Most Sundays, I take delight in being one of these countless moving parts in this vast living Body of Christ. At times, I can rest and allow the body to carry me along. At other times, it is my turn to carry the body with words, actions, or simply my caring and interested presence. 

This afternoon, the Baptism Team and I baptized five new members of our Church - all infants - and it was a marvelous celebration. Many participated: a married couple with their young children who are part of our team, a choir of young adults who sang beautifully, a young altar server, the parents and godparents, and the entire assembly, and me, and of course, the Lord. Through all the activity of the liturgy, He touched many hearts and minds. This is one of the marvels of the priesthood. 

We collaborate together, and we strive to do our own parts with excellence, but often enough there are little or even big glitches. Still, the result always seems to be far more than the sum of all the parts we have contributed. True excellence happens because God is present and is welcomed by people who gather together in faith, and the Holy Spirit of the Living God mysteriously raises us all to a level of excellence that is not of this world. The excellence that is in God himself finds us, enters into us, and binds us all together for some timeless moments.... We become part of a supernatural happening, which ironically seems to unfold in such a natural way that is seems so proper and normal. 

Sooner or later, for many of the people participating, there comes a moment when within them there occurs a convergence of sights, sounds, words, memories, meaning, that connects them to the infinite and timeless truth, goodness, and beauty that are in God - they are transported out of themselves into something, or someone, bigger - they become the joy and delight swirling around them. Often, this moment of grace or communion happens when a person least expects it, or even comes on the heels of a conflict, pain, or misunderstanding, or emerges from the bowels of a great, deep, and intense struggle. 

Something like that happened today. It was an opportunity I could have so easily missed, because I was rushed by activity on all sides, I was hungry and tired, and I could so rightly have said, "Why don't you come back in a day or two?" I'm so grateful that the same One who orchestrates the faith celebrations in our Church filled me with a grace of sensitivity and compassion for this person, and I recognized the signs of struggle, pain, and helplessness. We agreed to meet after the next celebration. 

Have you ever experienced a crisis - either at work, or school, or home, or in a relationship, or in the midst of a project - and you suddenly find yourself with few or even no options. You are trapped, and have nowhere to go. You look inside, you look around you, and you realize with horror that you are standing on the very brink of a precipice, which falls to unknown, unseen, unsuspected depths. One little push, and you might lose your footing and fall into the nothingness before you! I agree with the Muslim expression (excuse the spelling) "Allah achkbah!" which means "God is great!" God is truly great, because I have seen so many times with my own eyes and heard with my own ears that without fail God is always ready to transform a precipice of disaster into a threshold of opportunity. 

Whenever I have encountered people in such drastic crises, it is not immediately apparent that they are on the brink of disaster. Moreover, I very often find myself in such an encounter when every fibre of my being is crying out to escape and go somewhere quiet, because I have been engaged in feverish activity, or have been on my feet for a good part of the day, or I have just been through several intense conversations already, or else feel hungry and faint, and the list goes on. As strange as this may seem, the moment that I accept to suffer whatever it is about the situation that I personally find difficult, the encounter begins to take a different turn in the direction of life. It is the way of the Cross of Christ. 

In his own life, Jesus too suffered all that we suffer, much as we do now, and yet He always remained available and compassionate, and He gave life to people in countless ways. From the very beginning, Jesus sent out his disciples to participate in this very work of his, and fully intended that in every generation we might do as He did and share in his joy at seeing the Holy Spirit fill people with his gifts and with divine life. I share with you, the reader who may one day read these lines, the great joy I had today in seeing the Lord do it yet again for this person who came to me. 

What appeared as a hopeless precipice - I had to acknowledge to myself that on a human level I could see no way out, no solution, either - surprisingly opened up onto new possibilities that I could not have planned more effectively if I had had a week to think about it. When the person picks up or senses in their own mind that I may be short of time, or that they may be a burden, and so on, there is nothing to do but admit the truth; so I did. Once the person understands that I freely accept to suffer whatever inconvenience there may be, then they are freed from the burden, because I am freely and even gladly accepting to carry it. I found myself free to demonstrate how it is possible for me to choose what isn't the easiest path, which in turn allows the person to perceive that what seemed impossible to them might actually be possible - they too can accept to suffer if they first feel loved. That is what happened. 

When we are surrounded by conflict, permeated by pain, filled to the brim or overflowing with anger and resentment, there may actually be no solution by directly attacking the people who seem to be enemies or the circumstances that seem to be insurmountable. A different paradigm may be needed - Jesus' new way of the cross - we can actually accept to suffer, and we can even make this choice gladly, when we can find love within us to drive the engine of such an apparently impossible decision. Of course, it is humanly impossible - or seems so - to deliberately and consistently decide to accept to suffer a person or situation. Many health professionals would diagnose as mentally unbalanced a person who deliberately goes out seeking pain and suffering. 

But the focus here is not on the suffering, but on love. It may not be up to the others to change first, and to remain fixated on this expectation is a deep trap. Often, it may be up to me to change. In this case, I won't be able to do it - I won't be able to accept or go on accepting to suffer people or situations - even for love of them - unless I first experience and know with conviction that I am loved... loved perfectly and unconditionally, and this is God's domain. God wants to love us - especially because we don't deserve it - and this is mercy, a quality of love that is particularly divine, loving those who don't deserve my love. This whole approach, from the point of view of our contemporary culture and technological society, seems counterintuitive, because it is. It doesn't make sense, but that is precisely what makes it so powerful when a person allows themselves to enter into it, or to allow it to enter them. 

The first step may simply be to entertain the pleasant prospect of being loved by God, and possibility of then having the strength and freedom to choose to suffer out of love in order to accept another person without demanding that they first change in order to fit to my desired specifications. Such a solution appeals much more strongly and deeply to the human heart than the alternatives proposed by the inflamed imagination: revenge, unyielding hatred, ever intensifying anger.... 

I must say how delightful it is for me as a priest to be part of making the impossible so quickly and easily become possible, and what shows itself time and again capable of giving people strength and motivation to do the impossible, such as love their enemies, has to do with the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. Our sins hold us bound up and trapped in the bundle of our complex emotions, rationalizations, and misgivings. A priest can so easily lead a person before the Lord with a spirit of regret and repentant desire to change. They feel understood and become willing to admit their sin and turn it over to the Lord, and then He sets them free... so simply, so naturally. 

That person suddenly, gently, feels more normal, more themselves than they have felt in a long time, which confirms for them that they have begun to walk on the right path, and often a spontaneous and childlike joy erupts within them as they feel themselves lifted up by God into a realm of higher living, of nobler motives, of what until now may have only been dreamt of possibilities. They are becoming part of God's movement to make the world a better place by letting God make them a better person.

"Lord Jesus, I praise and thank You for the marvelous, simple yet mysterious way You are pleased to act in the lives of people through others. I ask the Father in your Holy Name to continue to pour the Holy Spirit into the lives and spirits of women, men, youth, and children throughout the world; that more and more people will accept to embrace the cross in order to love others as You love us - accepting to suffer others as You accept to suffer us - and so become part of your New Creation, and have the delight of drawing others with us into the divine life You offer to all mankind. Amen!"

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My purpose in these posts is to help spread the contributions of a variety of Christian and other writers in a desire to share significant writings that in my estimation contribute to the common good and directly or indirectly give glory to God and extend the Lord's work of salvation to all of humanity. G.S.

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© 2004-2021 All rights reserved Fr. Gilles Surprenant, Associate Priest of Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montreal  QC
© 2004-2021 Tous droits réservés Abbé Gilles Surprenant, Prêtre Associé de Madonna House Apostolate & Poustinik, Montréal QC 

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