The missing grandparents

Sts Joachim and Anne presenting little Mary
in the Temple of the Lord.

On this feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary, it suddenly strikes me that...there is no place in even the most imaginative tradition where Jesus has the usual two sets of grandparents. The Gospels themselves, with two distinct genealogies (those long strings of "begots"), can't even agree on the name of Joseph's father. Matthew says it was Matthan while Luke says "Heli, the son of Matthat."


Of course, there's a reason for the incompleteness in the family tree. Jesus didn't exactly have paternal grandparents. This is not to disparage the love people can have for their adopted grandchildren; instead, it is a theological statement.

While our grandparents and great-grandparents and their grandparents can be traced, theoretically, in a line stretching back to Eden, Jesus' origin is "from of old, from eternity," and his true Father is the one "from whom every fatherhood in heaven and earth takes its name." As is the case with the Blessed Virgin Mary, everything we say about the grandparents of Jesus reflects what we believe about God.

It's all relational

Greetings from Texas, and the warm, sunny (dehydrated) districts of Austin, where my sister lives. (This time last year we were here with Mom.) The past week hasn't been as rough on me as I had expected. My sisters in New Orleans had already gone through a lot of Mom's things, delivering clothing to Goodwill (and to an aunt, and a neighbor), and picking out things they especially wanted.  I suppose seeing Mom's house and belongings already in distribution was easier than coming home and seeing things intact, as if she were still there. This road trip to Texas was, in part, a delivery service, hauling some of Mom's things that my sister here had her heart set on from among Mom's framed prints and jewelry (not much in that department; Mom's tastes were very simple), as well as a few selections from Mom's vast collection of scarves and purses. (Now I know why I like bags so much...)

Right now I am here with two of my sisters (and the dear old Golden Retriever who is now baying at the back door); one more sister will be arriving Thursday with her daughter. (That leaves the youngest sister, but as we visited her overnight on our way here, she is part of the total experience, too.)  I'm not sure what the next few days will involve, but I do suspect that shopping might be a big part of it. (If competitive shopping were an Olympic event, my sisters would all be gold medalists.) As for me, there are a few things I needed for the upcoming trip to Italy (for that month long meeting, not for a pleasure trip!), but I was able to find most of them among the things Mom left. (Thanks, Mom!)

Without Mom, the family relationships now stand on their own. Today's Gospel was about family relationships, too. Jesus was in a house, surrounded by his disciples (probably a motley enough crew). Mary and some of his "brothers" (the Church has always understood this term in its broad sense as "relatives") came over, asking for Jesus, and somehow the message was passed along until it reached the Master. He answered with a question. "Who are my mother? Who are my brothers?"  When Jesus asks a question, he is about to deliver a powerful teaching. So it was: he stretched out his hand, the open palm sweeping the room. "Here are my mother and my brothers: everyone who does the will of my Heavenly Father is brother and sister and mother to me."

Today I noticed (for the first time) that Jesus did not say that the one who does God's will is his brother OR sister OR mother, depending on the person's sex and general attitude toward the Lord. He said that such a one is all three: brother and sister and mother, as if there were no one term that could express the close relationship that is brought about; as if such a one were "everything" to Jesus--everything but his Eternal Origin. Is this also a hint of the Trinitarian communion we are invited into? To have our relationship with Jesus as our whole identity, the way the Persons of the Divine Trinity "are" their relationships within the Divine communion? And that the Father's blessed will is the Origin of it all?

I think I'll spend the remainder of this vacation time pondering that. (With my feet in my sister's backyard pool.)

Pope Francis: The Surprising Truth about Faith and Science

Since it's "TOB Tuesday" and we have been sampling Pope Francis' new encyclical, here is a related thought from the document. With the rise of "evangelical atheism" (as it has been called), we have seen a stronger critique of faith from the point of view of science--or at least in the name of science. Well, from Pope Francis, himself a scientist (Master's in chemistry), we have some words also on faith and science (#34). Far from limiting the scientist, Francis says, faith enhances the scientific enterprise!

Faith "illumines the material world, trusts its inherent order and knows that it calls us to an ever widening path of harmony and understanding. The gaze of science thus benefits from faith: faith encourages the scientist to remain constantly open to reality in all its inexhaustible richness. Faith awakens the critical sense by preventing research from being satisfied with its own formulae and helps it to realize that nature is always greater. By stimulating wonder before the profound mystery of creation, faith broadens the horizons of reason to shed greater light on the world which discloses itself to scientific investigation."




On a personal note, I am heading down to New Orleans today. It will be my first family visit since Mom died in April. Although I still have a vast network of family and friends, it is quite intimidating for me to enter in to the full experience of Mom's absence according to the flesh. Prayers, please.

Pope Francis' encyclical: Is faith "for real"?

I am still on retreat, but before silencing myself and my electronics, I prepared a series of posts featuring a passage or two from Pope Francis' first encyclical, "Lumen fidei" (Light of Faith). In section #24, he speaks of the tendency in our society to dismiss faith as an option for the weak-minded or perhaps for the fragile. If it helps you feel better to believe, well, at least it does you some good, even though it has no real, essential connection to life.

Isn't this an accurate description of how "the world" thinks of faith--and Pope Francis makes it clear, that without truth, the world would be right: faith should be dismissed, or relegated to the field of psycho-somatic medicine. If faith were divorced from real, solid truth, this is all it would be:

"Faith without truth does not save, it does not provide a sure footing. It remains a beautiful story, the projection of our deep yearning for happiness, something capable of satisfying us to the extent that we are willing to deceive ourselves."

Now, since this is how many of our neighbors, co-workers, even family members see faith, what might be the first step or two we could take to prepare the way for a New Evangelization?

Pope Francis: a Lumen Fidei thought for Sunday

In observance of the Lord's Day, I usually don't post on Sundays. All the more since I am on retreat all week! But I am preparing this week's posts in advance, so it isn't Sunday at all. And this is a beautiful thought from the encyclical "Lumen fidei" (Light of Faith) for the Lord's Day, which is also the "Eighth" Day, the Day of Resurrection which speaks to us of the Day of the Lord's return when an eternal Sabbath will dawn:

What other reward can God give to those who seek him, 

if not to let himself be found?

Lumen Fidei, n. 35.

Lumen Fidei: Does truth matter?

Like his predecessors, Pope Francis acknowledges that one of the signs of our times is a kind of reluctance to accept any truth that dares present itself as absolute, as true no matter the time of day, the season of the year, or the person who considers it. In his encyclical on faith (#25), Francis writes:

"In contemporary culture, we often tend to consider the only real truth to be that of technology...truth is what works and what makes life easier and more comfortable. Nowadays this appears as the only truth that is certain, the only truth that can be shared...."

When it comes to truths closer to the human heart, we allow for "your" truth or "my" truth, and we admire the person who is faithful to his or her own convictions, but, Pope Francis comments,
"these are truths valid only for that individual and not capable of being proposed to others in an effort to serve the common good."

To this split between material, mathematical truth (with its risk of subordinating persons to profits or other material goals) and personal, interior truth that cannot be universalized (and therefore that is ultimately isolating), Pope Francis offers a remedy:

"The question of truth is really a question of memory, deep memory, for it deals with something prior to ourselves and can succeed in uniting us in a way that transcends our petty and limited individual consciousness. It is a question about the origin of all that is...and thus the meaning of our common path."


Faith, Francis wants us to realize, can never be private or personal. It always comes by means of a relationship ("Faith comes from hearing"), leads into relationship with God, puts us in relationship with other believers, and bubbles out from us to draw others into the relationship. (It is more of a life-form than we may realize!)

On the other hand, relativism (the belief--and it is a belief!--that "I have my truth; you have yours" and that no one has the right to "impose" their truth on anyone else, much less expect to see it enshrined in society's norms or laws) is by its nature isolating. It is as if Francis is hinting: don't expect a hands-off, relativistic culture to yield fruits of peace, while writing off faith as a threat to the human family. It's quite the opposite! (And really, don't we see this at work in the intolerant demands for tolerance that are come from the rejection of truth and its authority or even validity?)

Tidbits from "the Light of Faith"

Retreat silence continues, but I have prepared a week's worth of posts from the new encyclical while my technology and I rest in the Lord. (Full disclosure: my Kindle is not participating in this retreat, as it contains the text of Theology of the Body on which the retreat talks are based.)

Today's thought (from #27)  helps lift faith out of the realm of dry, sterile teachings where we can sometimes relegate it, and shows that faith has an intimate connection to love:

"Love and truth are inseparable. Without love, truth becomes cold, impersonal and oppressive for people's everyday lives.... One who loves realizes that love is an experience of truth, that it opens our eyes to see reality in a new way, in union with the beloved."

I recall that this experience of love revealing a greater truth was fundamental to Jennifer Fulwiler's conversion from atheism. What might this (and another passage I may use as tomorrow's tidbit) suggest to you about the most fruitful avenue for the New Evangelization ?

Faith according to Francis: Lumen fidei

I'm on retreat all week, but before entering into the Great Silence, I pulled out a few highlighted passages from Pope Francis' first encyclical, "Lumen fidei" (Light of Faith). Today's passage (from #29) focuses on the "who" of faith. The "what" we believe is secondary. Faith is primarily a matter of relationship. Yes, faith is a sort of "knowing," but what does that mean? Pope Francis comments on Paul's "faith comes from hearing":

"Knowledge linked to a word is always personal knowledge; it recognizes the voice of the one speaking, opens up to that person in freedom and follows him or her in obedience."

Faith comes from hearing, yes; that means that faith has its origin in a relationship. Isn't that a redemptive notion of faith?

Evangelization in "The Light of Faith"

Since I am on retreat this week, I have prepared a thought a day from Pope Francis' first encyclical, "Lumen fidei" (the "light of faith"). This passage (from #32) struck me as a wonderful description, even a definition, of evangelization:

"Christian faith, inasmuch as it proclaims the truth of God's total love and opens us to the power of that love, penetrates to the core of our human experience.... illumining all reality with the love of God made manifest in Jesus, and seeking to love others with that same love..."

Do you ever think of evangelization in terms like these?

TOB Tuesday and "The Light of Faith"

Mom with granddaughter #3, earlier this year.
I like the way that this photo lets you see the
"ray of light" from this relationship of love.

While I am on retreat, I have prepared a daily tidbit for you from Pope Francis' first encyclical, Lumen fidei ("Light of Faith"). Today's passage could have been taken right from Pope John Paul's Theology of the Body:

"The fact that our human loves contain that ray of light also helps us to see how all love is meant to share in the complete self-gift of the Son of God for our sake. In this circular movement, the light of faith illumines all our human relationships, which can then be lived in union with the gentle love of Christ" (N. 32).

Earlier, Pope Francis had written about faith as a communion with Christ that allows us to see with his vision. Here, that seeing with his vision leads to loving with his love. 

Tidbits from "The Light of Faith"

My annual retreat begins this evening, and those eight days of silence include digital silence. However, that does not mean you won't be hearing from me! No, I won't "cheat," but I am preparing some posts ahead of time, drawing on what I have been reading in Pope Francis' first encyclical, "The Light of Faith" (Lumen fidei). It's true there is a LOT of Benedict's "voice" in this document, but Francis comes through loud and clear. It is, after all, his encyclical. So look for a daily dose of "Lumen fidei" while I am on this retreat. And please pray for me that the "light of faith" will glow  with greater intensity for me during this week of prayer (and silence!).

To get the ball rolling, here is your first installment of "Lumen fidei" (from #31):

Last night I had read today's Gospel in preparation for Mass and meditation, and then I picked up the Kindle to continue reading the encyclical. Lo and behold: a reference to today's Gospel story of the "woman with the flow of blood": "The crowd presses in on Jesus, but they do not reach him with the personal touch of faith, which apprehends the mystery that he is the Son who reveals the Father. Only when we are configured to Jesus do we receive the eyes needed to see him" ["him" in this case being the Father, since faith allows us to see with Christ's own vision].

Day of Three (make that Four) Popes

Today was a day of Popes in the news. It started, basically, at midnight when Pope Francis' first encyclical, "Lumen fidei" ("light of faith") was officially released. This document had, of course, been begun by Pope Benedict. (My community will be releasing it in a booklet format; you can pre-order that here. If you are familiar with the red jacket on the encyclicals and documents of Pope Benedict, get ready for a change: Pope Francis' documents will sport a green cover!)

Then there was a press release. It was not about the new encyclical, but it did involve Popes. Pope Francis signed the decree for the canonization of not one, but two Popes: "Good" Pope John and Pope John Paul II ("Santo subito," indeed!). In a way this is more than appropriate. Pope John opened the Second Vatican Council, and Pope John Paul (who as a young bishop held the last chair in the assembly at the opening session) not only attended every session, he helped write its documents and then, for over a quarter of a century, oversaw the implementation of the Council. The canonization can be seen as a compact guide to the interpretation and implementation of Vatican II!

Last time a Pope was canonized was 1954, and that Pope had died in 1914. This means that sometime soon the Church will have had three saints on the Chair of Peter in the span of less than 100 years. That those same 100 years were a particularly trying time for the world in general just demonstrates God's providence, a providence we can continue to rely on no matter how trying the times to come may be.

 Later in the day, Pope Francis blessed a statue of St. Michael the Archangel in the Vatican Gardens. Pope-Emeritus Benedict was there, too! Francis consecrated the Vatican to St. Michael the Archangel and to St. Joseph, making some relevant comments about the ongoing fight against evil, a fight which has already been won.

Meanwhile from the retreat house

I had my dates all mixed up. Retreat doesn't start until next week. We've been having community updating meetings at the retreat house this week. The weather is just my speed: 90 or so, humid... but the mosquitoes in Massachusetts this year are incredibly plentiful (not to mention aggressive). They actually intimidated me to the point that I did not step foot outside yesterday. (Today was less humid, so I slatered on the insecty repellent and took my chances on a short walk. The bug spray worked.)

Today's meetings were with (and about) our Pauline laidy, the "Cooperators." The Paulien Cooperators were actually the first institute of the Pauline Family to get official Church recognition and status--in 1918. They are especially well organized and active in Italy (of course) and in the Philippines, but we want to help the groups here in North America to flourish, too. So today we had a panel of Cooperators and sisters addressing issues, and we did some brainstorming with them to come up with a few practical steps to take to provide consistent and ongoing formatioin in the thought of Blessed James and the spirituality he developed. One of the Cooperators is an actress, who sees a real longing among the Catholics in Hollywood for the community and spiritual support the Cooperators can offer--not just as their own Institute, but because they are connected to a bigger (much bigger) family of insittutes with a special media focus. This reminded me of our obligation to pray in a deliberate and conscientious way for media professionals. Sometimes I let that intention slip off my radar sceeen, crowded out by many other intentions and needs--but it is all the more urgent as our culture refers more and more to media creations (and celebrities) for a sense of direction and identity.

Friday we will visit the publishing house, where a lot of reorganizing has been going on: departments changing places, new personnel, etc. By evening, I'll be up to date. Tomorrow is also significant in the publishing apostolate because Pope Francis' first encyclical, on faith, will be released. This was begun by Pope-Emeritus Benedict, and taken up by Francis, so it is unique in the history of the Church in that sense, too. (Francis spoke of it as an "encyclical written by four hands.") This completes Benedict's "trilogy" of encyclicals on the three theological virtues; he already issued "Saved in Hope" and "God is Love." You will be able to download the document directly from the Vatican.va website tomorrow--you can also pre-order a handy printed version  (I'm calling it "chapel format" since it is such a good size to use in personal prayer). In fact, here's a message you can copy and paste into Facebook and Twitter to help get the word out:

Pope Francis' first encyclical in a handy "chapel size" format! Pre-order today https://www.cvent.com/Pub/eMarketing/Pages/SignUp.aspx?p=3ce0e4c4-0115-47b2-a4fc-8bdc2363eb1a&m=

TOB Tuesday: a Deepened Sense of God

Dr David Schindler, one of the professors at the John Paul II Institute for Studies of Marriage and the Family (think "Theology of the Body graduate school"), comments that what Theology of the Body offers us today is a renewed, and deeper, sense of God: a real "Theo-logy."


On a related note (if you think about it!), today is the 35th anniversary of my first vows!

Letting the dead bury the dead

In case you missed the point yesterday, Jesus (through the liturgy) will make it again today. "Let the dead bury their dead."

Harsh words, of the sort we don't expect from the Sacred Heart! But today I heard something else in Jesus' voice. It's not a harsh tone: it's insistent, almost pleading: "Follow me and let the dead bury their dead." He'll say it again, to Peter, after the Resurrection: "You, follow me."

St Paul gives the example of what it means to "let the dead bury their dead," when he writes to the Philippians about his own life: "Forgetting what is behind and straining towards the goal, I press on to take hold of the prize, for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."

Yesterday's responsorial psalm gives us the words for
this: "I keep the Lord ever before me."

I will follow him.