Agnostics more Christian than Catholics?

The Openers column for the November 13, 2011 issue of Our Sunday Visitor prompted me to look up this homily from Pope Benedict XVI delivered on September 25, 2011 (http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/homilies/2011/documents/hf_ben-xvi_hom_20110925_freiburg_en.html):

 "...it is not words that matter, but deeds, deeds of conversion and faith....  agnostics, who are constantly exercised by the question of God, those who long for a pure heart but suffer on account of their sin, are closer to the Kingdom of God than believers whose life of faith is “routine” and who regard the Church merely as an institution, without letting it touch their hearts, or letting the faith touch their hearts."

I've recently encountered a few agnostics that lived up to the Pope's perspective.  These agnostics live their life in such an altruistic way that I'm almost shamed by my own lack of will to live out the Gospel message.  I said "almost" because I know of a few Christians that are truly living saints, and those are my model and hope for me and our Church at large.
So, in recognizing my own weak willed desire to truly follow the example of Jesus, I pray that Christ will give me the strength and courage to embrace the cross of humility, letting go of my attachments to entertainment, instant gratification, self-absorbed pride, digital idols, laziness, and a bunch of other worldly devices that constantly drag me away from my walk with Christ.

Adoring Friday

Is this the good life?  I really can't complain since I'm writing this in front of the Blessed Sacrament.  This week have been a whirlwind of activities, and I'm glad to be winding down in adoration.  I really wanted to lay all my concerns down at the feet of Jesus, but somehow I always seems to re-focus on what I need to do to resolve the situations that have been on my mind.  Here are some random thoughts floating around my head (I guess if I write them down, they'll be grounded and I'll be less distracted):  the catechist presentation, the Costa Mesa lot, praying for Rose, Rosalie, John; cohousing ideas, community expansion, groupwise user moves, backup vm, creating new vm, storage, ...

All this and the sniffle, too.  I don't know the reason why but every time the weather changes, I get the runny nose.  Am I allergic to the weather?

Thank you, Jesus.  I am glad you are here with me now.  I hear the rain outside and I am reminded how blessed I am to be here.  Help me to walk humbly and with a contrite heart.  I want to be your instrument of peace.  Quiet my heart and mind so that you can show me your way.

Feeling the love of God

I'm not going to submit posts often, but I just wanted to give it a try because I had an insight to share. I was at an evening Mass last week with a small group (Serra Club), and at the Sign of Peace I realized that I knew everybody there, and I liked them all, in fact I loved them all. And it made me think of our group of candidates and wives, which I have the same feeling about – I know you at least a little, and I love you a lot. And of course I feel the same way about my family. And it occurred to me right then that God looks at us the same way – he knows us, loves us, is proud of us …. It is so great to know the love of God!

Joe

Views from the Vatican about Occupy movement

The following appeared on The Washington Post's "Under God" blog, published 10/25/2011.

Does Pope Benedict support Occupy Wall Street?

By Elizabeth Tenety

Pope Benedict XVI waves to pilgrims in St Peter's Square in Vatican City on Oct. 23, 2011. (Vincenzo Pinto - AFP/Getty Images)Does the Vatican’s new document calling for a “central world bank”and a “supranational authority” to advance the common economic good mean that Pope Benedict supports the complaints behind the Occupy Wall Street movement?

“ ‘The basic sentiment’ behind the protests is in line with Catholic social teaching and the new document on global finance issued Oct. 24 by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace,” council President Cardinal Peter Turkson, said to the National Catholic Reporter.

But a debate over the authority of the document, and the requirement (or not) of Catholics to support it, is now being waged by some of America’s most prominent Catholic writers, scholars and activists.

You can read the full text of the document, Note on financial reform from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, in the embed below. Among the findings are calls for:

The world’s peoples to adopt an ethic of solidarity as the animating core of their action

— A “world political authority” to manage “the growing interdependence between states and regions of the world becomes more and more obvious as well as the need for answers that are not just sectorial and isolated, but systematic and integrated, rich in solidarity and subsidiarity and geared to the universal common good”

— A “central world bank” that regulates the flow and system of monetary exchanges similar to the national central banks

Note on financial reform from the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace

Many conservative Catholics writers, who often defend the Vatican against critique, have suggested that the council either lacks the authority to compel Catholics to support it, or that the media is misrepresenting the full vision of the document. Meanwhile, liberal Catholics who tend to emphasize the church’s teachings on social justice are heralding the document as proof of the church’s solidarity with global economic protests and those who are suffering during this time of economic downturn.

Here’s the view from the blogosphere:

The Catholic League’s Bill Donohue notes that the document was not penned by Pope Benedict and lacks the authority of an encyclical.

George Weigel, writing in the National Review, shared Donohue’s sentiment: “The document is a ‘Note’ from a rather small office in the Roman Curia. The document’s specific recommendations do not necessarily reflect the settled views of the senior authorities of the Holy See.” Further, Weigel suggests that Catholics do not need to agree with the recommendations, writing, “Catholics (and others) are entirely free to disagree — as many already have, and vociferously — with the specific suggestions of the Justice and Peace document.”

At CatholicVote.org, Thomas Peters writes, “Liberal Catholic routinely (and in this case) try to read the church’s social teaching as dogmatic while choosing to view the church’s moral and religious teaching as optional. In fact, the church herself is always careful to make clear that her moral and religious teaching is dogmatic and binding while her social teaching — and particularly her economic teaching — is exhortative and prudential.”

At the National Review, Samuel Gregg says Catholics should feel free to question the economic recommendations of the council: “Many of its authors’ ideas reflect an uncritical assimilation of the views of many of the very same individuals and institutions that helped generate the world’s most serious economic crisis since the Great Depression.. . . We can surely do better.”

Nicholas Hahn at Real Clear Religion called the document “incompetent babble on financial reform.”

Surveying the scene for Religion News Service, Catholic journalist David Gibson suggested that the ‘cafeteria' label doesn’t just apply to liberal Catholics, with so many conservatives rejecting the council’s recommendations. Among the responses on the left:

At the National Catholic Reporter, Sean Michael Winters notes: “It didn’t take long for certain conservative critics to denounce the document released yesterday by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace regarding the world financial crisis. This is the same crowd which, on other issues, points to similar Vatican documents and invests them with enormous authority. But not now. . . What is curiously absent from all these (conservative) interventions and analysis is any attempt to wrestle with the issues the document does raise.”

“When it comes to economic justice, Pope Benedict XVI is to the left of President Obama. Heck, he is even to the left of Nancy Pelosi,” Thomas Reese, S.J., wrote in support of the document.

“The Vatican’s timely call for global economic justice should also inspire U.S. Catholic bishops, scheduled to gather for a national meeting next month, to start offering a bolder critique of economic libertarianism and anti-government ideology now ascendant in our nation’s politics,” wrote the Bold Faith Type blog of the religious advocacy group Faith in Public Life.

Were you surprised, disappointed or encouraged by the council’s analysis and findings?

Should I Stand with Occupy Wall Street?

On principle, I'd say yes, but I don't know if I would support an almost "all-for-nothing" sentiment that are prevalent among the protesters.  Yes, the economy is bad for most, good for some, and great for a few.  The "few" (the "1%") does have an obligation to share their blessings with the "some" and the "most".  However, the "most" (the "99%") also have a responsibility to work for their own blessings, rather than demand that blessings be given outright.  Yes, everyone deserve blessings, and everyone should work for their blessings, but those with  ready access to blessings should, and must, allow blessings to be accessible to all those who are capable of working for their blessings.

You may have noted that I used "blessings" instead of a standard economic term to describe worldly wealth. This is because I believe all that I have, whether it be worldly or spiritual goods, came from my Father in heaven.  Those are blessings to me.  I did not "earned" them or worked for them, not in the spiritual sense anyway.  I was given my blessings as a test of my stewardship:  Parable of the talents, Matthew 25:14-30.   And Jesus could not have been clearer as to what he wanted me to do with my blessings as the verses following, Matthew 25:31-46, described how I will be judged, not by my accumulation of blessings, but by my sharing of blessings.

It's a most difficult lesson for me to learn, as I long to accumulate blessings for myself, my family, and my loved ones.  That's expected of me.  But Jesus is challenging me to go expand that circle of love to those I may not welcome into my home, my car, my life.  Some may not be deserving of my blessings, and that is the reason why I need to give something even more valuable, and that is my time.  That's the funny thing about blessings, it's easy to give to those who are deserving, but for those who are not as deserving, they require the rawest and toughest-to-give form of blessing, and that is time.

So should I be in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street, and other similar movements?  I'd have to say yes, if the point is to encourage dialogue between the leaders and their constituents.  I believe in democracy, and democracy can only work when those in power work for the people, and not just for their own pocketbooks and/or ideology.  The current perception of the leaders favoring a minority of people with lots of blessings may or may not be true, but I'm certain that having more blessings means having a bigger voice, and it's human to respond to screams rather than whispers.  And by that, I support those tiny whispers that have collectively grown into a scream, but I wonder if it's loud enough for our leaders to hear.

What Now?

I am struggling with this whole blogging/reflection thing that I started.  I'm questioning myself if it was just me, or maybe God didn't really say to go make a blog.  Maybe I'm just confused and thought I heard something.  Well, whatever the case is, this blog is out there... and I'm going to try to make it work, painful as it may be for me to write things down.
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Some people asked me if I felt any different now that I'm a "candidate", and what does "candidate" means, anyway?  I tell them everyone is a "candidate" for heaven, and so that doesn't really make me special or any more holy than they are.  ...I fear that sentiment.  That some how after ordination, I will be perceived as having "special" power that belongs to "holy orders".  In some sense, that is true, but I pray that I won't let that go to my head and fall into the traps of clericalism.  Perhaps it's a good thing that we go through this candidacy process, so that we can practice humility and focus on serving rather than basking in our "candidacy" moment.
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Things are starting to come back to normal here in Seal Beach.  I don't think it'll ever be the same as before, though.  It's like how your skin will never be smooth again after a wound heals.  I'm sad, especially for the loss of innocent lives, and a little bit for the loss of innocence.  My Mayberry by the Sea now holds that unwanted title of the worst massacre in Orange County.  As always, I know God is in control.  I have no doubt that there are greater things that I cannot understand now, and I trust God will reveal his glory to me and the world in his own time.

Beautiful Sunday

This is the first Sunday of my life, or at least the life of this blog.  Yes, it's a tired cliché, but it's true. Every Sunday I get a chance to renew my self, both physically and spiritually.  Physically, I try not to do any "work" on Sunday, and like right now, it's time for bed, so goodnight!

Calling All Candidates!

"PRESENT!"
If I ever had an out of body experience, it was when deacon Frank called my name and I heard someone else exclaimed "present!"  It was as if my body was on automatic and I was being led toward the altar.  It was a strange, surreal sensation, and the feeling left me just as I turned around and faced the congregation.  I then heard a voice inside telling me, "take it all in, this is only the beginning..."  Another thought popped into my head, and it was telling me:  "you need to create a blog..."  I'm thinking, "Ok, God, this is neither the time nor the place to tell me about blogging."  And then I saw Joe still sitting there in his chair--awkward moment, I thought.  And God chose this moment to tell me to go a create a blog!   Not serve my sheep, or feed my flock, or tend my people... just create a blog.

So, here it is.  A blog for Joyful Servants.  I am hoping to see contributions from all of us on this journey toward Christ.  I know that we can learn from one another as we share moments of joy, sorrow, glorious, and luminous mysteries of life.

I pray that other than telling me to go and create this blog, that God will continue to guide me and my brothers and sisters on this journey toward him and serve his children along the way.  Amen.