Something's Not Right, But...

Something's not right when a parish becomes popular because it has short, quick Masses. If religion is simply fulfilling obligations, it may make sense to get to Mass and "get it over with." If religion is an intimate relationship with God, hurrying through Mass is rude and counter-productive.

Something's wrong when the Church lacks sufficient priests to meet the needs of the people, and the leadership's only response to this shortage is to encourage more prayers for more vocations. Maybe leaders need to take another look at how God calls people.

Something's misguided when ordination to the episcopacy is a reward or an honor given to a man because of the office he holds. Bishops are successors of the apostles, and as such they are ordained not for themselves but for the people of God. The custom of assigning a newly ordained bishop to an imaginary diocese proves the point.

Something's out of balance when Cardinal Jozef Suenens of Belgium must ask his fellow bishops at the Second Vatican Council, "Why are we even discussing the reality of the church when half the church is not even represented here?" His observation led to inviting women to be present as auditors at the final two sessions.

Something's amiss when an ecumenical council directs that "the rite of the Mass is to be revised...the rites are to be simplified...parts which were lost through the vicissitudes of history are to be restored" and then a later pope decides to open the door to using the old rite anyway.

But something’s very reassuring when the cardinals of the Church elect a man to the papacy who is humble, pastoral, and not afraid. A real shepherd!

Something’s encouraging when the new pope selects Church leaders from around the world to help him in assessing the Church’s bureaucracy. Reform of the Curia is probable.

Something good is happening when the pope meets with the leadership of women religious, encouraging them to be of service to God’s people. The door to dialog is open.

Something’s back on track when signs of poverty and simplicity rather than wealth and pomp mark the life and lifestyle of the vicar of St. Peter. Pope Francis is challenging the mindset of many Church members as well as critics.

Something’s bringing hope and new life to the Church when Protestants declare themselves “very optimistic” about Pope Francis at the Protestant Kirkentag (the 34^th annual gathering) held in Munich May 1-5.

Something good is happening in the Catholic Church as we observe the fiftieth anniversary of Vatican II –perhaps another Pentecost moment when the people of God will be inspired all over again to bring the Gospel into the world. Let us pray for the gifts of the Holy Spirit!

If I Were Pope...

As the cardinals prepared for the conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict XVI, they met to assess the state of the Church and offer suggestions for the kind of leader needed to deal with the crises which the "disfigured face" of the Church is currently showing to the world.

Laity, religious and clergy around the world have likewise expressed their hopes and expectations for the new papacy.

Most of the priests I know have verbalized their wishes and prayers that the new Bishop of Rome will bring energy and credibility to the Church and its mission.

Among the wishful thinking were recommendations (in no specific order) which I have classified under the heading "If I were pope, I would..."

...auction some Vatican art treasures and give the receipts to help the poor (cf. Mk 10:21)

...ban the cappa magna (the long red cape or train some hierarchs wear) and simplify clerical and liturgical dress (cf. Mt 23:5)

...urge Catholics to focus on their relationship with God and their love for neighbor rather than their religious practices (cf. Mk 7:5-13)

...develop the responsibility and authority of bishops' conferences (cf. Lumen Gentium, 22-23)

...appoint a board of bishops (on a rotating basis) to oversee the work of the Curia (cf. an idea which surfaced during the Second Vatican Council)

...replace the current English translation of the Roman Missal with a translation developed and approved by the English-speaking bishops (cf. Sacrosanctum Concilium, 22.2)

...reaffirm the expectation that the faithful be actively engaged in the liturgy, fully aware of what they are doing (cf. Sacosanctum Concilium, 11)

...ordain women as deacons (cf. ancient Church practice)

...restate every human being's "right to freedom in searching for the truth and in expressing and communicating his opinions and in pursuit of art, within the limits laid down by the moral order and the common good" (cf. Pope John XXIII's Pacem In Terris, 12)

...reform the way the papal primacy is exercised without renouncing what is essential to its mission (Pope John Paul II's Ut Unum Sint, 95).

...respond to the victims of the abuse scandal, "do everything that we can to help, support, and heal them; secondly, that such acts be prevented by the proper selection of candidates for the priesthood, as much as possible; and thirdly that perpetrators be punished and be bared from any opportunity to repeat such acts" (cf. Pope Benedict XVI, Light of the World - A Conversation With Peter Seewald p. 28).

...revisit the requirement that limits Catholic theologians to explaining (but never exploring or questioning) the magisterium  (cf. the cooperation between bishops and theologians at Vatican II)

...declare a Year of  the Consecrated Woman, celebrating the vocation, ministry and heritage of religious sisters and nuns (cf. common sense).

The worldwide list of proposals and policies for the new Bishop of Rome would fill volumes. The expression of such hopes and dreams, however, seems to me a healthy sign --that laity, religious and clergy take the mission and ministry of the Church seriously and want very much to be involved in building the Kingdom of God on earth.  For that, "Amen, Alleluia!"

What Kind Of Pope?

I have heard the question asked dozens of times over the past several days: "What kind of pope do you want?"

Variations on that theme include: "What do you want the new Guy to do?" and "If you could choose the new pope, who would it be?"

The responses have been diverse:

"I hope the new pope can clean up the mess in the Vatican. He'll need to insist on transparency and honesty."

"The new pope will have to reform the curia if he hopes to have a successful papacy."

"We need a guy with some charisma --someone who'll restore confidence."

"We need a pope who will get us back on track --stop all this modernizing and get us back to the way the Church used to be."

"He should be a man of prayer, with a deep spiritual life, guided by the Gospel more than the human traditions of a stuffy old bureaucracy."

"I hope the new pope respects and promotes the direction set by Vatican II."

"The new pope is going to have to bring some new, younger people into the Church's leadership, like Cardinal Martini suggested."

"I don't have much hope for change. All the cardinals were appointed by either John Paul or Benedict.--it would take a miracle for us to get somebody who will really read the signs of the times and respond accordingly."

"I pray the Holy Spirit will choose someone who'll clean house."

"The new pope's got to ordain women as deacons, stop using the episcopacy as a reward or  some kind of  honor for officials in church bureaucracy, and finally respect bishops' conferences and collegiality."

"I really don't care who's chosen. He won't affect me. I go to church, say my prayers and try to live a good life. Popes don't do much for the average Catholic."

"Do you think it's too much to ask for another John XXIII?"

The National Catholic Reporter (March 1-14, 2013) published a list of cardinals the NCR considers "Top Ten Contenders." They are scarcely known to most Catholics, but with all the jokes accompanying his name, it is amusing that at the top of their list is Cardinal Angelo Scola, the Archbishop of Milan. (The amusement is in saying, "We now have  Pope Scola in the Vatican!")

Unlike the last consistory, this time there is no likely candidate. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was practically a shoo-in eight years ago. If the word "likely" were applied to the upcoming election, it would probably modify the noun "Italian."

In the meantime we wait and pray.

It Is Time To Pray

Catholics are encouraged to pray for divine guidance for the college of cardinals when they meet to elect a new pope.

It is our hope that the election of the new pope will be the direct choice of the Holy Spirit, but, given papal history, there is no convincing reason to maintain that this is necessarily so.

Pope Benedict was once asked whether the Holy Spirit chooses the pope. His answer was nuanced: "I would say that the Spirit does not exactly take control of the affair, but rather like a good educator, as it were, leaves us much space, much freedom, without entirely abandoning us. Thus the Spirit's role should be understood in a much more elastic way, not that he dictates the candidate for whom one must vote."

Then why pray? If even the Holy Spirit does not necessarily get the candidate she wants, what good is our prayer?

As I wrestle with this question, and indeed with the whole concept of prayers of petition, I begin with the notion that God does not like to do things for us. Rather, God much prefers to do things with us.

Many a grandmother brings her grandchild into the kitchen to bake cookies. Grandma could mix the dough and cut out the cookies more efficiently, more cleanly, by herself, but she willing puts up with the extra mess and misshapen dough in order to bond more closely with her grandchild.

God, I think, does much the same. The Father, prompted by love, prefers to have his children intimately involved in the plan and process of salvation.

There are various kinds of prayer: adoration, thanksgiving, contrition, and petition. Through the prayer of adoration we worship God, acknowledging awesome divinity. In prayers of thanksgiving we express gratitude for heaven's blessings. In contrition we admit our sinfulness and express a spirit of amendment.

But what are we doing in prayers of petition? We are asking God for something: maybe for health or wealth, for success or protection, or for any number of perceived needs.

Are we asking for these things because God is oblivious to our needs? Of course not. Do we pray for the restoration of a loved one's health because we need to earn God's intervention? That makes no sense, since God loves our loved ones more than we do.

If our prayer of petition neither wakens God to our needs nor earns a response, why ask?

Perhaps the first reason we petition God for anything is that such a prayer awakens within us a sense of our dependence upon the Divine One. By such prayer we acknowledge that we are not in control, that we are powerless in many situations of life. We are simply admitting the truth that we need divine providence, that it all depends on God.

A second reason for petition (indeed for all forms of prayer) is that in this exercise of raising our hearts and minds to God we are releasing into the world a force for good!

This reason may seem mystical, but it is not to be ignored.

We know that there is evil in the world. Recall the advice in 1 Peter 5:8, "Be sober and watchful, for your adversary the devil like a roaring lion is prowling about the world seeking someone to devour. Resist him steadfast in the faith..."

When grandmother cooks a pot of cabbage the aroma soon wafts from the kitchen into the rest of the house. In a similar way, when we do evil (when we sin) we release evil into the world. And, conversely, when we do good (when we love) we release goodness, a force that confronts and counterbalances evil.

All our prayers, including petition, release the force of good, and that force can influence the world and the mentality around us.

Since God does not like to do things for us (except in special situations --for God is God, and God does whatever God wants) but rather prefers to do things with us, God patiently waits for us to release goodness into the world, and allows the things of this world to be influenced by either the presence of evil or the force for good.

Our failure to pray does not necessarily shackle God's power nor prevent divine intervention. Nevertheless, if my interpretation of salvation history (including the history of the Church) provides a clue about God's modus operandi, I am persuaded that God often waits for us to do our part.

All prayer, especially petition, is to be couched in an attitude of  "thy will be done."

It may well be, however, that God's will awaits our cooperation.

It is, then, possible that our next pope is not necessarily God's choice. Our encouragement to pray for the guidance of the Spirit at the conclave is found in Luke 11:9: "And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."

If our prayer releases a force for good into the world, may that force finds its way into the closed doors  of  the Sistine Chapel. May the "Extra, omnes" of the Master of the Papal Liturgical Celebrations drive out all evil forces from the conclave and let remain only the good ones, blessed by the Holy Spirit.

If we do not ask, we shall not receive. Let us release the good. It is time to pray!