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03 Jul 2011 - Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A

There's a saying in Haiti that sums up many conversations there: Life is hard, but God is good. Coming from a community that's among the poorest on the planet, it's a statement of faith that inspires wonder. We tend to scramble our theology with our personal experiences: When things go well, we say we're blessed. When things go awry, we're tempted to curse God, to feel cheated, or at least to ask, "Why is God doing this to me?" To distinguish our circumstances from our theology is rare. To testify that God remains good, no matter what happens here on earth, is a higher order of fidelity. The Hebrew prophets operated on this level when, in the midst of war, economic upheaval, national depravity, or crushing humility, they forecast peace, prosperity, renewal, and restoration. In the moral testing that each generation faces, the prophets continued to proclaim that God would be good, no matter what the nation stooped to or was beset with. Do we, in our times, trust in the goodness of God? Do we refuse to despair when the economy falls apart, when violence lingers in the news, or when our national leaders display all the moral formation of 2-year-olds? Because that is what our faith requires of us. The fact is, religion isn't something we do only in church; it's how we live in the midst of our families, communities, and generation, with all the nastiness, broken dreams, and dreary prognoses we encounter therein. Religion has to do with the choices we make whether employed or unemployed, well or sick, alone or ensconced in interdependent relationships. As religious educator Adele Gonzalez points out in her book named after the Haitian saying above, none of us has the luxury to talk about God apart from our life experiences. We are "home in the middle of everything, in the middle of 'IT,' " Gonzalez says. So what do we believe, in the middle of IT? That's the only creed worth professing. If we speak a mere rehearsed formula after the homily and live another reality entirely when we return home, our faith has lost its integrity. Does God remain "good" after Mass or simply become irrelevant outside of this hour? When Jesus invites us to approach him with our burdens, that means we're welcome to bring to him our total and true selves. Jesus is with us in the realities of every hour, not only in the golden singularity of the sacramental moment. We're not asked to set down our pack of troubles outside the church door, rest an hour, and then reassume the burdens of life alone once more. When life is hard, in the middle of IT, Jesus accompanies us to demonstrate that God is, now and always, relentlessly on the side of good. Related scripture links Prayers for the troubled: Pss. 13, 27, 46, 51, 57, 70, 91, 130, 131; Mark 14:36 Words of consolation: Isa. 9:1-6; Luke 1:46-55; Matt. 6:25-34, 19:26; John 6:37-40; 2 Cor. 12:9-10; Phil. 4:4-7 Reason to hope: Luke 17:20-21; John 3:16; Rom. 5:1-11; 1 Thess. 5:8-11 Speaking the truth: John 8:31-32, 14:6, 17:17-19, 18:37 Catechism links Revelation and seeing: CCC 151-153; 240; 443; 473-474; 544; 1658; 2603; 2779- 2785 Zechariah's vision: CCC 559-560

Authors Alice Camille

Haiti Faith adele gonzalez theology religion

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Theology made simple

11 Jan 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

One of theology's purposes is to "make known" God's deeds among the nations, as the responsorial from Isaiah puts it this Sunday. A group of Asian Christian leaders is asking for a new theology that will help nations address current global crises. The group is pushing for a "theology of simplicity and caring" to bring hope to a "prodigal world" staggering under the burden of widespread economic crisis and undergoing climate change that could submerge small islands in the Pacific Ocean. "It is time to challenge the growth-is-success myth, which also has contaminated the church, and shift to a more transformative way of thinking and lifestyle in tune with God's creative order and purpose," said the Rev. Daniel Kim Dong-Sung of the Saemoonan Presbyterian Church in Seoul, which is said to be the oldest Protestant congregation in South Korea. Source: An article by Ecumenical News International

Success saemoonan presbyterian church daniel kim dong-sung climaye change crisis pacific asia theology

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Clergy believe revisions to Roman Missal fall short

26 May 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Wisdom has been God’s “delight day by day” since it was established, the Sunday reading from the Book of Proverbs tells us. More than a year after revisions to the prayers and rubrics of the Catholic Mass were established, Catholic clergy are not quite as delighted, according to a new survey.In a poll from St. John’s University School of Theology, nearly 60 percent of priests surveyed said they did not like the new Roman Missal. One-third of priests (34 percent) strongly disagree that the new translation of the Mass is an improvement and 80 percent say that some of the language is “awkward and distracting."The new translation, which went into effect in the nearly 18,000 parishes in the U.S. in November 2011, was years in the making but took longer than expected when, critics say, the process was taken over by Vatican-backed conservatives who wanted to make the language sound more like literal translations of the original Latin.That resulted in formulations that supporters said were more authentic and expressed a grandeur and mystery appropriate for the sacred rites. Critics said the new phrasings are stilted and often incomprehensible. One reason that priests seem to take a dimmer view of the new translation than the laity in surveys could be that priests have to use it every day and have many more passages to recite than lay people. They paid closer attention to the translation process, which may explain why many of them said they were just as upset with the way the revision was undertaken and implemented as they were with the end result. More than six in 10 of the priests surveyed said they wanted a revision of the revisions, and they are not the only ones. “While we don’t want to ‘throw the baby out with the bathwater,’ the new missal needs corrective surgery and this should take place without delay,” Bishop Robert Brom of San Diego said.Homily hint: How have the revisions to the Roman Missal been accepted in your own faith community? Perhaps they offer an opportunity for some education on the history, form, and function of the liturgical celebration of the Mass. To examine the survey report in detail, see the Executive Summary of the 2013 Survey of U.S. Priests on the New Roman Missal. Source: An article by David Gibson for Religion News Service

priests surveys roman missal robert brom st john’s university school of theology mass translation

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Liberation theology finds some liberation?

22 Sep 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The first reading this Sunday makes clear that the God of Israel cares about the fate of those who are poor. Echoing that concern, Pope Francis has called on the Catholic Church to be “a poor church for the poor.” A progressive theological current that emphasizes the church’s closeness to the poor and the marginalized but was subject to decades of hostility and censure is now finding increasing favor in the Vatican under Francis, who has made plans to meet with Peruvian theologian and Dominican friar Gustavo Gutierrez, considered the founder of liberation theology.The announcement for the meeting came on Sept. 8 from Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), the Vatican’s doctrinal watchdog, during the launch of the Italian edition of a book he had originally coauthored with Gutierrez in 2004.It’s a remarkable turnaround for a movement that swelled in popularity but was later suppressed during the pontificates of John Paul II and his longtime doctrinal chief, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI.Liberation theology arose as a Catholic response to the Marxist movements that fought Latin America’s military dictatorships in the 1960s and ’70s. It criticized the church’s close relations, including often overt support, with the regimes. In his highly influential 1971 book A Theology of Liberation, Gutierrez argued that the church should have a “preferential option for the poor,” following the example of Jesus.In the 1980s the Vatican’s doctrinal office, headed by Ratzinger, condemned liberation theology for its “serious ideological deviations.” Yet it was Benedict himself who appointed Mueller as his successor at the CDF, despite the fact that the latter was a well-known Gutierrez admirer.Though never an overt supporter of liberation theology, Pope Francis, the first pope from Latin America, has ushered in a new era in which liberation theology can no longer “remain in the shadows to which it has been relegated for some years, at least in Europe,” said the Vatican’s semiofficial newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.In his book written with Gutierrez, Mueller describes liberation theology as one of the “most significant currents of Catholic theology of the 20th century” which helped the church bridge the divide between “earthly happiness and ultra-earthly salvation.”During the book launch in the northern Italian city of Mantua, Mueller also announced that the Vatican doctrinal office has given the green light to proceed with the sainthood cause of Archbishop Oscar Romero, who was assassinated in 1980 for his opposition to the military dictatorship in El Salvador.Homily hint: However it is expressed, the call to live in solidarity with those who are poor as well as to work to ease the burdens of poverty go out to every Christian. How can all of us imitate God’s special consideration for the poor? Source: An article by Alessandro Speciale for Religion News Service

Pope Francis benedict xvi john paul ii gustavo gutierrez gerhard ludwig mueller liberation theology

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In a first, a woman will lead a pontifical university

13 Jul 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In explaining the parable of the sower and the seed in this Sunday’s gospel, Jesus indicates that seed sown in good soil will be cultivated as a good harvest. A career spent cultivating academic excellence resulted in a precedent-setting harvest for Franciscan Sister Mary Melone, the first woman to be named rector of a pontifical university. Melone will lead the Faculty of Theology of the Pontifical University Antonianum, the Roman university run by the Franciscans. Melone, born in La Spezia, Italy in 1964, joined the Franciscan Sisters of Blessed Angelina, taking temporary vows in 1986 and professing perpetual vows in 1991. Considered an expert on Saint Anthony of Padua, she was appointed to a permanent professorship and later dean of the Pontifical University Antonianum. In both instances she was the first woman to hold such positions. Pontifical universities are established under papal charter and are the only institutions empowered to confer ecclesiastical degrees accredited and certified by the Holy See. Despite her groundbreaking theological career, when interviewed several years ago on women’s role in the church and female theology, Melone said, “I don’t give much importance to these kinds of labels, female theology. Above all I don’t like comparisons, although I recognize that in the past there may have been a reason for making comparisons. Maybe there is one today as well, I don’t know. More space definitely needs to be given to women. The reference to female theology does not really fit with my vision of things: all that exists is theology.” Homily Hint: For many centuries women were prohibited from studying or teaching theology. It is heartening to see the church begin to cultivate the great harvest of theological wisdom that women have to offer. May opportunities for women’s contributions continue to open at all levels of the church. Source: An article by Iacopo Scaramuzzi for VaticanInsider.LaStampa.it

pontifical university female theology

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Longtime sanction on priest lifted

17 Aug 2014 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the universal vision of the prophet in this Sunday’s first reading, all are welcome into the house of God. Within the ranks of active clergy, that now includes a Central American priest Pope Francis has reinstated after lifting a ban dating back 29 years.The Rev. Miguel D’Escoto Brockman, 81, was suspended by the Vatican in the 1980s for his involvement in the political activities of Nicaragua’s Sandinista movement. D’Escoto recently wrote to Francis asking for that order to be revoked so he could celebrate Mass again before he died.D’Escoto and three other priests were suspended in 1985 for defying a church ban on clergy holding government jobs. The Sandinistas, who supported the “popular church” of liberation theology, overthrew the pro-American regime of Anastasio Somoza in 1979. D’Escoto served as Nicaragua’s foreign minister from 1979 to 1990.The Vatican announced August 4 that Francis had agreed to the priest’s request to lift the suspension and asked D’Escoto’s superior in the Maryknoll order to help reintroduce him to priestly ministry. Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers confirmed in a statement that the pope had agreed to remove “the canonical censure inflicted upon him,” and approved his reintegration and resumption of his priestly duties.D’Escoto was ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1961. He helped found Orbis Books, the theological publication division of Maryknoll, and he was an official with the World Council of Churches. From September 2008 through September 2009, he presided over the 63rd session of the U.N. General Assembly as its president.Homily hint: The Central American conflicts of the 1980s created a lot of ideological enemies. With the passage of time and a change in leadership in the church, new beginnings are possible. Pray for all of those who serve the church, regardless of the posts they may hold. And pray for a church large enough for everyone to have a place. Source: An article by Josephine McKenna for Religion News Service

central america liberation theology

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We are all theologians

Short essays about observed trends in Roman Catholic life - Pastoral trends

Have we ever really thought about what it means to do theology? On the one hand theology is rightly and justifiably understood as an academic exercise left to those who read, teach, and create big books. On the other, theology must be understood as something all believers must do if our tradition is to remain vital. Theo-logy, after all, literally means “God-talk.” How do we share a word about God? How do we talk about God? One thing is clear: We must talk about God if God is to be talked about. Theology in this sense cannot be left to the professional academics precisely because it is too important. Theology—how we talk about God—must be modeled by preacher and hearer alike. It is tied to witness and discipleship, discipline and relationship. When we find ourselves tongue-tied in God-talk around children, we know we have a problem. When we find we cannot say why our Catholic faith means so much to us when we talk with neighbors or coworkers, we know have a problem. We need to own our reality: We must be theologians—God-talkers—or we will fail to witness to the gospel. © 2009, Bryan Froehle.

Authors Bryan Froehle

theology

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How to understand the Trinity

Short essays about observed trends in Roman Catholic life - Pastoral trends

Our little brains cannot hope to enter into the whole reality of God’s promise! We see as through a glass, darkly (1 Corinthians 13:12). For this reason theological language is best expressed often in practical theological engagement rather than speculative theological constructions. A proper understanding of the Trinity, therefore, enters into an engagement with relationship and forms of relating rather than speculative understandings of unity in diversity. The main thing, really, is to avoid distortion: Trinity, not “Tri-theism.” Once we stray into territory like that, we know that our expression is no longer adequate. The point is not to have perfect theological understanding but rather to avoid distortions that take us from an adequate theology. An adequate theology is certainly not a “good enough” theology—it is instead at the upper limits of our ability as persons to express and to engage God in God’s deepest self. That is surely not the work of the head, or of the heart, or body. Rather it is the work of the true worshipper, when we are prayer-full. Any adequacy in our theology ultimately comes from our practice of right relationship with God—which in turn connects us with all creation and most certainly with our sisters and brothers. © 2012, Bryan Froehle.

Authors Bryan Froehle

trinity theology

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Revolutionary priest passes away

28 Feb 2016 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Saint Paul reminds readers against hubris this Sunday: “Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.” Nicaraguan dictator Gen. Anastasio Somoza Debayle apparently did not get the memo and was overthrown by a popular uprising that involved many Catholic leaders and activists in 1979. The Rev. Fernando Cardenal, 82, a revolutionary priest and member of Nicaragua’s leftist cabinet in the 1980s, died on Saturday in Managua. Cardenal oversaw a sweeping campaign that local officials credited with reducing illiteracy from 51 percent to 13 percent and was the brother of Father Ernesto Cardenal, a poet and intellectual voice of the revolution. Homily hint: The 1960s and 1970s were years of repression, upheaval, and revolution in Latin America. World powers intervened and local struggles became Cold War struggles. In the process, many legitimate aspirations of the people were crushed under the geopolitical weight of the Super Powers. Though suffering has been needlessly prolonged, the struggle for justice continues. For more: Fernando Cardenal, Nicaraguan Priest Who Defied Pope, Dies at 82

liberation theology social justice nicaragua

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Homily stories

19 Jun 2011 - Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity, Cycle A

Back when I was a student in the seminary, we would be tested in general areas of theology as well as in the specific course work we were taking. They would give us an extensive reading list for those "area" exams. One of them included the theology of the Holy Trinity. At 4 a.m. the night before the exam I reached a chapter in a thick textbook that was titled "The Filioque Issue." Evidently at some point in church history theologians debated whether the Holy Spirit came from the Father through the Son or from the Father and the Son. I was too tired to wrap my mind around the issue, so I closed the book and went to sleep. The next day there was a 30-percentage point question on the test asking us to describe that very issue. I did not know what I said, but it was good enough to pass--barely. It is good and important to leave those issues to the theologians. For most of us, it is enough to believe in our God who created us and who has lived with us in history and now in the church. It is enough to believe in the God whom we find animating the very depths of our being--one God experienced in such mysterious ways. That should be enough for us to respond to with love. And this may be even a little harder to do than to explain it all theologically.

Authors Father Dominic Grassi

trinity theology god

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