it's Advent

There is a story told of the holy French priest Jean Vianney (Ćure d’Ars d.1859). He noticed an elderly man who would spend hours in the church before the Blessed Sacrament. 

The ćure was curious about what happened in this man’s prayer. ‘What do you do when you are praying” he asked the man. The old man’s answer has become the classic instruction for contemplative prayer: “I look at Him, and He looks at me.”

The simplicity of the man’s prayer is deeply appealing. So much that is taught and written about prayer serves only to convince us that prayer is a complex project to be mastered.

We forget that prayer is the most natural human activity. Prayer is the 'default-setting' for humans. Prayer is always God’s action in us. 

Our desire for the divine life within us is the purest prayer we can pray. To sit in silence and stillness before God is the best we can do.

When I think about the ćure’s conversation with the elderly man, I see that he was deeply at home with God; much more at peace with God than I often am. Most times I feel unable to look at God. My guilt and shame renders me more like Adam in the garden who took to cover, unable to return the divine gaze.

But there is hope for me. God does not need me to do anything in my prayer. I simply give God the gift of time, and I sit or kneel. If looking at God is difficult for whatever reason, I need not be concerned. In these moments I simply know that however preoccupied my own vision, God is always looking at me with gentle love and mercy. 

God’s gaze on me is the heart of prayer. God does all the work—and I am transformed.

The busyness of pre-Christmas days can be exhausting. How easy it is for us to lose perspective. We forget that God is holding us in love in every moment. 

These Advent days invite us to set moments in the midst of our full lives to remember that God is with us. To know that we are held firmly in God’s vision is the most comforting human experience. In this gaze we see our sin and weakness. In humble shame we cast our eyes downward. But the God of love continues to look upon us with transforming love. This posture before God is the heart of contemplative prayer.

Francis: new face of Benedict

Media broadcasts in recent days have carried news of the publication of Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation "The Joy of the Gospel".

It is significant and unusual for a papal document to make secular news headlines, and is undoubted evidence that eight months after his surprise election, Pope Francis is an attractive and formidable world presence.

The new document, while a substantial fifty thousand words, is an easy read for anyone who has spent a couple of years at high school, and who sincerely seeks truth and beauty. That "seeking truth and beauty" point is important since many might begin to read, and quickly tire feeling discomfort at the pope's challenges and his intimate way of focussing on Jesus Christ as the heart of all joyful and healthy human life. Before many blog readers were born, Pope John Paul's first encyclical began with the same intimate emphasis: "Jesus Christ, is the centre of the universe and of history". Redemptor Hominis 4 March 1979

Even those who never miss an opportunity to criticize popes seem to be struggling to find a negative slant for their comments about "the Joy of the Gospel". This is not surprising since the pope provides his own robust critique of the world and the church, and he does not shy from explicit attacks on unjust and corrupt systems and structures both in the world and in the church. In short, Pope Francis does the work of his opponents for them. 

Perhaps the greatest surprise in these pages is the seamless blend of the themes, styles and emphases of Benedict and Francis. The "Francis factor" is naturally evident in what one blogger calls his "now-familiar flashes of homespun language." One example: "an evangelizer must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral!" (par.10) 

Another blogger is a bit shocked that Pope Francis strongly endorses Pope Benedict's "hermeneutic of continuity." Certainly both popes' positions on key and controversial issues is clear and consistent. 

At this eight-month anniversary of his election, Pope Francis seems to delight in claiming as his personal motto the words of Pope Benedict who eight months after his own election published the encyclical "God is Love." (Christmas 2005) Pope Francis writes: 

"I never tire of repeating those words of Benedict XVI which take us to the very heart of the Gospel “Being a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” (par.7)

Wednesday of next week (4 December) is the 450th anniversary of the opening of the Council of Trent. Today "Trent" is commonly synonymous with with a fearful and defensive church. In these past eight months, we have witnessed Pope Francis actively breaking through fear with love, and setting aside defensiveness to welcome all people of good-will with open arms and affectionate and merciful embrace. His natural and extroverted manner gives the writings of his predecessor a new face, and so he presents a new and welcome face of the Church to the world.

Advent I, parish newsletter

You can find the weekly newsletter for the Catholic Parish of the Good Shepherd, Hurunui, now uploaded to the parish website www.catholichurunui.co.nz. 

the Joy of the Gospel (interview)

A welcome opportunity from Radio NZ's Morning Report this morning to reflect on "the Joy of the Gospel."

Tap here to listen to the five-minute interview:

Radio New Zealand National

Morning Report

28 November 2013

Complete text of Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation "The Joy of the Gospel" (Evangelii Gaudium) is available at this link.

Anglican generosity

I am regularly moved by the generosity that New Zealand Anglicans show towards the Catholic community in our country. This morning I experienced this good-will and encouragement yet again, this time (as often before) on the popular www.liturgy.co.nz website of Rev. Bosco Peters of the Anglican diocese of Christchurch.

Bosco was posting a comment about Sunday's Faithfest gathering of the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch. His generosity extends to suggesting some "healthy dynamics of Roman Catholicism" that might make such a gathering possible. He is also balanced and realistic, accurately prefacing his comment with the insight that "numbers are not everything."

Alongside Bosco, significant numbers of Anglican clergy with bishops and parishioners are consistent in their respectful encouragement of New Zealand Catholics at every level, in parishes, in dioceses and also in national ecumenical dialogues.

I have deep gratitude for their practical and sincere friendship towards us Catholics, especially since I am not sure that the Catholic community of New Zealand is as generous towards Anglicans in response. 

The late 1960's through early '80's were a time of active friendship between our two communities of faith. It was as if we were fired by the conviction that our co-operation with the Holy Spirit really would heal the scandal of disunity among Christians. Catholics back then were encouraged by the "urgent wish" of the Second Vatican Council seeking to banish both fear and pride from our relationships with other Christians: "that no obstacle be put in the ways of divine Providence and no preconceived judgments impair the future inspirations of the Holy Spirit." Decree on Ecumenism par.24

I fear that some of our earlier generous spirit and passion for the prayer of Jesus "that they may be one" (John 17:21) may have faded from the Catholic side of our relationship.

Perhaps we Catholics felt that in post-Conciliar confusions we know longer knew what it was to be a Catholic Christian. Did we fear a loss of our own identity if we were too serious about friendship with other Christians? No surprise then that we might have retreated, even at times ignoring the warning of Pope John XXIII in his opening address to the Council: "fired with a commendable zeal for religion... but see nothing but calamity and disaster in the present state of the world." Have we forgotten that Pope John then stressed that "we feel that we must disagree with these prophets of doom, who are always forecasting worse disasters, as though the end of the world were at hand". (Pope John XXIII, 11 October 1962)

In our own era, Pope Francis is a timely and welcome reminder of the disarming power of non-defensive and generous human friendship, especially in the midst of diverse doctrinal emphases and differences in ecclesial structures.

Thanks to you again Bosco, and to your Anglican sisters and brothers who continue to extend the embrace of friendship towards us Catholics. Your generosity of spirit and warmth of friendship will renew our passion for the visible unity that is the ardent desire of all those who truly seek Christ.

www.liturgy.co.nz

Faithfest Cultural Festival

Here is the final selection of Faithfest photos - this time from Sunday afternoon's Cultural Festival. Thank you again to Peter Fleming who took these photos and generously shares them with us.

faces of faithfest

More Faithfest photos here from Peter Fleming. If you were there, the chances are you will see yourself in at least one of these pictures.

The pics are a mix from different moments of the day, some from the Mass, others from the Choral festival. Photos of the cultural festival to come tomorrow.

The programme for the day was:

9.30am - Expo throughout the day featuring the life of the diocese.  

10.00am - Combined Primary Schools Choral Performance - a 450 strong choir made up of students from our Catholic Schools from years 7 and 8. 

11.00am - Mass

2.30pm - Cultural Festival features the rich diversity of some of our cultural communities as they share song and dance.

7.00pm - Ecumenical Choral Festival comprising combined city church choirs, students from our Catholic Colleges and a variety of Christchurch Choirs (CBS Choir, Christchurch City Choir, Jubilate Singers, Barbershop, Community Choirs)