beauty of creation

Last week, with about 400 friends, I spent a day hiking in the alps between Italy and France.  We began by driving into the Little St. Bernard Pass, and climbing together,  in single file and in silence (mostly) until reaching a plateau where we celebrated Mass, had lunch, rested and sang.

The beauty of the mountain scenery was breathtaking. The images capture little of the reality.

But even more beautiful was the community of faith that hiked together. While others sang in foreign languages I took the chance to gaze around at the beauty of this gathering of pilgrims - the people surpassing the scenery in beauty of course...

...after all the mountains, the sky and the beauty of nature was just God's preparation (day 1-5 of creation), before on day 6 creating the human person in the divine image.

Mont Blanc

Giant's tooth (left) and Rochefort Arête

Mass is about to begin

Otematata - where it all began

You have read the title so you will guess that this picture is of the Catholic Church in Otematata.  This is where on 10 September 1961, I was baptised.  The Church is no longer there. 

(Can anyone tell me what happened to it - I took the picture in the early 1980's)

At my birth a couple of weeks earlier I first breathed on my own.  But it was only when Fr. Reg O'Brien poured the water and called on God "I baptise you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" that I really began to live.

Fr. O'Brien would have prayed this in Latin.  But God listens in every language. The pope reminded us of this yesterday in the Wednesday Audience. Listen to the young guy in this clip (jump ahead to 37 seconds to hear him)

I have been thinking a bit about baptism this week prompted by a couple of things. I will blog my thoughts here tomorrow, and in the parishes newsletter this weekend.
  

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ps.  If you don't know when you were baptised, you might like to find out by sending an email to the church/parish where you were baptised with your full name, parents names and your date of birth.  When you do find out, celebrate the anniversary each year as your own personal major feast.

Christmas shopping

As I write the Christmas Clock is telling me that there are only 108 days, 33 hours until Christmas Day.

Many parents, grandparents, Godparents, aunts and uncles struggle in choosing a gift for young people.  Many of you are committed in your Catholic faith, but are uncertain about giving a gift that is explicitly Catholic.

If you are a parent or Godparent, you have made a public declaration that you will do all you can to support the faith education of those you 'parent'.  So, no need to be shy about giving a gift that helps to live out your promise!

Here is a gift idea.  If you get hold of a copy now you can enjoy it yourself in the weeks before Christmas.

Thirty years ago the Catechism of the Catholic Church was published.  While most of you have seen this catechism, few Catholic have spent time savouring the contents.  Perhaps the lack of pictures and the lots of words is off-putting?

Last year a response to that criticism was published.  "YOUCAT" (short for 'Youth Catechism'). It is the Catechism in attractive format and ideal for people of all ages.  It is especially directed at people aged 16 - 30ish.

In his introduction, Pope Benedict challenges young people:  "You need to be more deeply rooted in the faith than the generation of your parents."

You may be able to find this locally.    The Catholic Diocese of Christchurch Youth Team will be able to you tell you where you can find this.  

It is also available from amazon.com

plans for peace

For those who are willing to pray with the Church, the daily Prayer of the Church offers real food for faith.

From today's Office of Readings:

"I know the plans I have in mind for you – it is the Lord who speaks – plans for peace, not disaster, reserving a future full of hope for you. Then when you call to me, and come to plead with me, I will listen to you. When you seek me you shall find me, when you seek me with all your heart; I will let you find me – it is the Lord who speaks."  

Jeremiah 29

paralympics and reason

Unfortunately I am not getting a chance to see too much of the London Paralympics.    

The exceptionally high TV ratings suggests that viewers are inspired and captivated by these athletes who have overcome disability to achieve excellence.

It is easy to forget that New Zealand, and the majority of the countries represented by these athletes, have laws that place these men and women on death-row...

...if their disability is discovered (or even suspected) In utero. 

Surely there is a lack of sound use of reason here?

Then this morning I read an article ('facebook'ed by Brendan Malone) that really got me thinking.  Article at this link.  The piece is subtitled "It's an appalling dilemma."

I agree - it would be an appalling dilemma if I thought that the decision about the life or death of my disabled child was mine to make.  

The beauty of Catholic Faith gives an environment in which God has gifted us with freedom to make all the decisions that are (by divine design) human decisions, and to leave to God all the decisions that (by divine design) are God's alone to make.

This is in no way an abdication of human responsibility. Instead, in this environment of faith, we are free from such appalling dilemmas.

Let's be reasonable. Surely there is hypocrisy at play if I admire these disabled athletes for their achievements, while at the same time considering their disabilities as justification for abortion?

hard sayings

In the Sunday liturgy over the last month we have jumped (from Mark) into the sixth chapter of John's gospel.  

Next Sunday we leap back to Mark. Today the gospel verses are from the end of John 6:

As a result of this,many of his disciples returned to their former way of lifeand no longer accompanied him.Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?"Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go?You have the words of eternal life.We have come to believeand are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

These verses always strike me as extraordinary.   So often my own projects and attempts at good works seem to come to nothing. My efforts appear to bear no fruit. I am left feeling disappointed and frustrated. At times I even begin to fear that I am not up to the task of evangelization.

And then I read these words from John's gospel: "many of his disciples returned to their former way of life, and no longer accompanied him."

This is hard to believe. Jesus, the master evangelist. Jesus, the maestro missionary.  And yet many people walked away from him.

It is also significant that Jesus made no effort to entice them back.  He certainly did not compromise his "hard sayings" to make the life of faith more easily digestible for them.  Jesus seemed to be completely unconcerned with the growth in numbers of his group of disciples. 

The heart of the missionary method of Jesus was his acceptance of the fact that personal intimacy with God is the only place of life.  Everything else is the fruit of this relationship.  

We can plan programmes, form pastoral plans and undertake new evangelization endeavours. But all of these well-intentioned efforts will come to nothing if we do not seek personal intimacy with Jesus above all else. 

As we live this life in harmony with God, some people will be attracted, but many others will leave us, even persecute us.  In the midst of this strife and loneliness we stay, since we know that

"You have the words of eternal life.We have come to believeand are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

friendship

If Pope Benedict were asked to summarise his teaching in one word, it is quite possible that he would name "friendship" as the heart of his message.

He would then stress that friendship with Jesus Christ is the heart of a person's healthy human existence.

In April 2005 his first homily as pope concluded with this message of friendship with Jesus Christ:

Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to Him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us?...And once again the Pope said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation....When we give ourselves to Him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life.

If we focus on friendship with Christ as the heart of our human life, then (and only then) do human friendships become something beautiful, great and liberating.

If we give human friendship the central place in our lives, (that is the place that belongs to God), then our human friendships will falter and fail.

Earlier this week Pope Benedict sent a greeting to the Rimini Meeting for Friendship amongst People. 

In this message he said that despite human's trying to escape this fundamental relationship with God, the human heart is still in search of the infinite, albeit in the wrong direction.  We begin a frantic search for a sterile and false infinite that leads to dangerous places: to drugs, sexuality lived in a disorderly manner, success at any cost, and even deceptive forms of religiosity.'

You can read the complete text of the pope's brief message to the Rimini meeting at this link.

This is an extraordinary gathering of people. Last year 800.000 people took part in the gathering; people attracted by beauty and truth, people seeking the infinite.

The theme of this year's gathering is "By nature, the human person is relation to the infinite".

Yesterday I spent time in conversation with a Buddhist monk. Later in the day with more than 8000 people (mostly much younger than me), I was in an auditorium to hear a 93 year old Cardinal (Julien Reis) in dialogue with a Buddhist monk.

You can discover more about the Rimini meeting at
http://www.meetingrimini.org/eng/

or get a taste of the gathering with these clips: